As reported by the coordinator of the technical services of Asaja Seville, Antonio Caro, the orange harvest in this Andalusian province will be delayed by a couple of weeks due to the heat that has been recorded recently which is preventing the fruit's ripening and the change in color that is needed for the fruit to be marketable. The orange harvest has also been delayed in Cordoba and Huelva for the same reason.
Almost half of the national orange harvest will be produced by Andalusia in the 2019-2020 campaign, according to the estimations of the Andalusian Council of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development. The prospect is to exceed 2.18 million tons; a volume that represents a growth of 3.7% compared to the average of the last four campaigns. It also accounts for more than 35% of Spain's total estimated volume.
Seville, the largest producer
In the 2019/20 campaign, Seville will continue to be the main citrus producing province in Andalusia, followed by Huelva and Cordoba. The three account for 79% of Andalusia's total citrus production and for 84% of the sweet orange production. Mandarins will be harvested mostly in Huelva, Seville and Almeria (93% of the total volume between the three), while the lemon production takes place mostly in the area of Malaga and Almeria, which will account for 97% of the total.
The second largest producer in Andalusia will be Huelva, with more than 507,000 tons of citrus fruits; 23% of Andalusia's total. In the specific case of mandarins, Huelva's production is expected to be the highest in the region, with 262,000 tons, which would represent almost 60% of the regional volume and an increase of 14.4% compared to the 2018-2019 campaign.
Meanwhile, Asaja has estimated that the next citrus harvest in the provinces of Seville and Cordoba will be reduced by around 15-20% compared to the previous season, when both provinces achieved record productions.
Source: sevilla.abc.es
