At La Huerta Xpana in Motril, Spain, spinach cultivation in particular has been severely affected by the recent severe weather. "We grow on ridges and beds. We see that in the case of ridge cultivation, the water has generally drained reasonably well, but cultivation on the beds, where we grow spinach among other crops, has been hit hard. Spinach, therefore, remains a sensitive product," says John Groen.
"Here in the south of Spain, we have been hit fairly hard and have lost about 10 hectares of spinach. That happened some time ago. The last time the crop here was really underwater was in 2010, but it was much worse then than it is this year. Fortunately, the weather forecasts for the coming weeks look better. And if we look around us, it could have been a lot worse. In growing areas in Portugal and Cadiz, the situation is far more severe."
However, there are no shortages in the market, according to John. "Murcia, for instance, has enough product. Personally, I think the market is very stable at the moment, and nothing particularly unusual is happening," says the grower, who runs Motril's largest outdoor growing company together with Maicel Kluijtmans, Pater Broersen, Cristian Dablea, and Manuel Collantes.
Spinach is the main product group for La Huerta Xpana, followed by kale, pointed cabbage, celery, and curly parsley, all grown within a 25-kilometer radius. A recent development is that the company now also manages the cultivation of avocados and mangoes in the region. "These crops are increasingly grown in this region, and it fits with our aim of spreading risk in both cultivation and marketing," John says.
A major challenge, however, is the availability of cultivation land. "We are in a relatively small area here, and land is becoming increasingly scarce. We would like to grow more spinach, but we have limited possibilities for expansion. That could be done in higher altitude areas such as Granada, but climatically we are well positioned here," John says.
While mangoes and avocados are sold on the Spanish market, 80-90% of the open-grown vegetables are sent to the Netherlands. In Spain, open-field vegetable production is also under pressure due to the shrinking availability of crop protection products. "Here, the situation is exactly the same. We were allowed to use Movento until 30 October, but after that, it was no longer permitted. However, the biggest problems will appear in the coming months, because when temperatures rise, aphid pressure increases."
The outdoor season at La Huerta Xpana continues through June. "We have spinach until 20 April, after which the cultivation of celery, pointed cabbage, and parsley continues for a while. We end the season at the end of June with kale. In recent years, we have also been active in bottle squash cultivation, and those are available from as early as mid-August."
For more information:
John Groen
La Huerta Xpaña, SL.
C/Mar Alborán 2
18613 Motril (Granada)
Mob: +31 651 290 227
[email protected]
www.xpana.net
