Murcia's stone fruit campaign started with some small quantities a few days ago. Next week, the harvest will begin in important areas such as Cieza and Abarán, so the supply will start to become more consistent, although the production in May is still expected to be lower than last year's.
"We have been marketing small quantities of fruit from the earliest areas for a week, and next week we expect to start harvesting in our area," says Santiago Vázquez, manager of the Murcian company La Vega de Cieza.
Due to the influence of the weather on the flowering, apricot volumes in Murcia are expected to fall by 50-60% below their productive potential; a greater decline than last year. Santiago Vázquez also estimates that the Murcian nectarine and peach harvest will be reduced by 20-30% in May compared to last year, while the peach production will be down by approximately 15%.
"Drought is the main cause for this drop in the volumes. Not a single raindrop has fallen since December, and this is taking a toll on the trees and reducing their vigor, which has a direct influence on their production," says the manager of this company, which markets around 25 million kilos of fruit per year.
However, the lack of rainfall will also result in fruit with a higher sugar content and greater hardness. "This makes us foresee that consumption will take off from the beginning of the campaign, also encouraged by the good weather in Europe, and coinciding, this year, with a considerable reduction in the stocks of winter products, unlike what we saw at this time last year."
The smaller harvest in Murcia in May will coincide with a reduction of around 40% in the production in Badajoz; a result of the frosts recorded in March, so there will not be an abundant supply. "May is going to be an interesting month for stone fruit," said Santiago Vázquez.
For more information:
Santiago Vázquez
La Vega de Cieza
+34 968455779
santiago@vegacieza.com
www.vegacieza.com