The stone fruit harvest has just started in the Bajo Segrià area. Catalonia expects a "normal" campaign, with the production of 520,980 tons of peaches and nectarines, according to the estimations of Afrucat and the Department of Agriculture. This is 27.5% more than in the previous season, which was marked by the impact of frosts and hailstorms; however, it will still be slightly below the productive potential. In 2017, for instance, the production had stood at 567,808 tons. We will have to wait, however, to see how prices are affected by this increase in the production, after an apricot campaign with low prices.
By varietal groups, the round peach will grow by 18.5% (122,740 tons); the flat peach, by 29.7% (142,590 tons), the nectarine will rise by 33.4% (323,000 tons) and the pavia will increase by 11.4% (23,660 tons).
The counties of Lleida, which are the largest stone fruit producers, will not reach their productive potential. A production of 486,090 tons is expected; 28.5% higher than last year (378,380 tons) but 5.9% below the volume reached in 2017. In Tarragona, the production will amount to around 25,460 tons, 16.7% more than in 2018, but 40.1% less than two years ago.
The districts of Barcelona will recover their productive potential with an estimated production of 7,680 tons; 14% more than last season, and also 15.9% more than in 2017. In Girona, where growers are increasingly specialised in apple production, the total volume will amount to 1,750 tons; 1.7% more than in 2018 and 9.9% less than in 2017.
According to Afrucat, "the good flowering, good fruit setting and the fact that, so far, no unexpected weather inclemencies have been recorded," makes everyone expect a "good quality" peach and nectarine production. However, the country's productive potential will not be reached this year, especially due to the uprooting of stone fruit trees carried out in recent years.
According to Afrucat, in 2018, only 500 new hectares of stone fruit were planted, compared to the 2,000 hectares per year that were planted before the introduction of the Russian veto. At the moment, Catalonia has 21,395 hectares devoted to peaches and nectarines, compared to the 22,673 hectares recorded a year earlier.
Source: segre.com
