A video shows just how disastrous this year has been for Spanish persimmon. Demand is extremely low, prices are ridiculous (€0.08-0.10/kg) and a lot of the fruit is being left on trees because it is not even worth harvesting it.
A grower reports that "no one is paying attention to us. Producer organizations, which were born to defend producers, are actually at the service of the big retail chain and politics. If, to this, we add the invasion of foreign produce (mainly from South Africa) and the phytosanitary restrictions when it comes to using certain pesticides effective in controlling harmful organisms, the situation becomes even worse."
Trees laden with fruit
Over the years, because of the great interest from Russian and Northern Europe for Spanish persimmons (a fall-winter fruit considered appealing, seedless and with an excellent flavor), the land destined to this crop skyrocketed to the current 15 thousand hectares. Many growers decided in fact to convert their citrus groves into persimmon orchards.
Such growth saturated the market with a subsequent drop in sales prices. Of course this affected all producers as, especially during this campaign, they saw their remuneration decrease down to just below €0.10/kg over the past few weeks.
Harvesting ended around a month ago but, in the orchards, it is still possible to see machines uprooting the trees or producers cutting them down. One thing is certain: the number of hectares will drop significantly.