Looking back, in 2009, the Spanish chestnut production nearly reached 300,000 tons, with Galicia accounting for 96.4% of the total production. However, just five years later, in 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food recorded a 46% drop in the national production, which reached a total of 161,359 tons.
"What happened at that time was what had already happened in Italy: the appearance of the chestnut gall wasp; an insect, Dryocosmus kuriphilus, originally from China that stings the buds of the trees and prevents the fruit production," said Juan Fernández, owner of Castañas Rafael and president of Proagrosilga. "Since those years, the production in Italy has been recovering, but that of Spain and Portugal has been declining."
"This year we have continued to have that problem, which has had an impact on the production, but we have especially been affected by the weather," he says. "After a summer that was perfect for the campaign, between September 20 and October 15 we had almost a month with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius. With the humidity from the summer rains and that heat, the conditions have been perfect for fungi to thrive and spoil the fruit, so not only has the production been low, but also the quality, and many of the chestnuts have not been marketable."
This campaign, in which the harvest has already been completed, the trend has followed last year's, when the production was also down. "To give you an idea of last year's situation, in 2016, we at Castañas Rafael had over 4,000 tons of chestnuts, and last year we produced half of that. This drop in the harvest not only occurred in Spain, but also in Portugal; however, there was a rebound in the production in Italy and Italian chestnuts covered the supply everywhere. The problem is that this year there hasn't been much supply anywhere."
Of course, this situation is reflected in the prices, which are at high levels. "Those wanting to deliver a good, if not exceptional, quality are hampered by some very high losses and a minimal working pace. So, the price must definitely go up," says Juan.
"However," he continues, "we have been seeing constant price rises since 2016, and we fear that prices will rise too much, to levels that will make it difficult for the product to be consumed in Spain and Portugal. We are already seeing this even in this year of lower supply."
Many other campaigns, not only Spanish, but also European, have been affected by the weather, so the chestnut sector, and especially that from Galicia, where 92% of the Spanish production was harvested in 2022, hopes that the weather will become more favorable, so that both volumes and, above all, the quality can be recovered in the 2024 harvest.
"Regarding the chestnut gall wasp, it is an issue that will continue to be there, but thanks to the experience in Italy and the fact that the pest has had a more limited impact in Spain, we are managing to keep it under control with the use of Torymus sinensis, an insect which has also been used for biological control in Italy," says Juan Fernández.
For more information:
Castañas Rafael
Parque Empresarial de Rubiá Parcelas 17 – 18 – 19 – 20
32310 Rubiá, Ourense, Spain
Tel.: +34 988 295 060
info@castanasrafael.es
www.castarafael.com