At the end of July, Coexphal presented its preview of the results of the 2020/2021 campaign. In general terms, the campaign had an uneven behavior depending on the crop and the spring crops weighed down the results.
Revenues are practically the same as a year earlier and costs have risen by 2%, mostly a consequence of the increase in oil derivatives. As a result, the sector's margin fell by 6%.
According to the president of the Association of Organizations of Fruit and Vegetable Producers of Almeria, Juan Antonio González Real, “the production marketed by the Coexphal companies has grown by 5%, reaching 2,670,644 tons. However, average prices are down by 4%. Given these data, we see that our sector continues to be affected by the same situation season after season. Farmers continue to give their all and continue to obtain unstable profits.”
Analysis by product
The decrease in tomato production in recent years was somewhat contained, as production increased by 1%. Prices increased by 2% and revenue by 3%. In addition, there wasn't an excessive growth in costs. As a result, the tomato producers' margin increased by 2%.
Pepper also showed great stability. Production was identical to last season and prices grew by 1%. The margin was also unchanged.
Cucumber production hardly increased (+2%) and prices only grew by 1%. The growth in costs offsets the increase in revenue, causing the margin to rise by 1%.
Eggplant is the product that shows the best figures this season. A slight decrease in production (-1%) and stable demand have caused prices and income to grow by more than 20%. As a result, the sector's margin has doubled compared to last season.
Despite an 18% increase in zucchini production, this product's prices were able to grow by 6%. The margin increased by 40%.
Regarding lettuce, an important crop for Coexphal, it is worth highlighting that prices increased by 5%. This, together with stability in marketing, has led to an increase in income and margins of around 5%.
On the contrary, the behavior of melons and watermelons has been very negative. The meteorological conditions at origin and destination, with a very uneven spring, didn't help regulate the supply and stabilize demand. As a consequence, the market was unable to absorb a more than 20% growth in marketing, both in melons as in watermelons. Average prices were 41% lower for watermelon and 32% lower for melon.
Source: agrodiariohuelva.es
