Asaja Almería presented the results of the past fruit and vegetable campaign at a press conference where its president, Adoración Blanque, stated that the average price paid to producers increased by 23% but that production costs had increased by 35% in the past two seasons. According to Adoración Blanque, the increase in prices has only made it possible for "producers to cope with the increase in cultivation costs derived from external factors, such as the war in Ukraine."
The acreage in the different cultivation cycles has remained about the same at 32,900 hectares and 48,212 hectares, respectively, Asaja Almeria stated. There was an increase in the area devoted to tomatoes (+15%), cucumbers (+10%), and bell peppers (+2%), and a decrease in the area used to produce beans (-19%), watermelon (-15%), melon (-10%), and zucchini (-9%). The acreage of eggplant remained stable.
The production volume increased by 8.5% to 3.55 million tons. According to the horticultural organization, more fruit and vegetables were harvested this season, with the exception of zucchini (418,990 tons, -23%) and beans (4,700 tons, -7.9%). Melon and watermelon production stood out as it increased by 38% and 36% over the previous campaign, respectively.
The market value of the fruit and vegetables produced in Almería during the past season stood at 3,639 million euro, i.e., more than 52% more than last season.
The production value was led by peppers, with 1,477 million euro and a 108% increase. Tomato turnover increased by 58%, to 809 million euro; cucumber experienced a 67% increase and stood at 527 million euro, and eggplant turnover increased by 56% more, to 242 million euro. In contrast, zucchini sales fell by 16%, melon sales by 11%, and watermelon sales by 23%.
Source: ecomercioagrario.com