Up to the month of April, fresh strawberry volumes have fallen by around 24%, while those intended for the processing industry have increased by 30%, according to data provided by the Association of Producers and Exporters of Strawberries from Huelva, Freshuelva. Additionally, the fruit's price has fallen by 22% compared to the same period last year.
The data, which reflect the campaign's results up to the first half of April, indicate that March has been, so far, the worst month of the year's first quarter, with a 40% fall in the production of strawberries for fresh consumption.
According to the Association, taking these data into consideration, "it will be difficult for the current campaign to recover back to 2012's levels." They explained that May "is always a month with lower production volumes, because the early varieties, which account for 25-30% of the total, are now arriving to the end of their production cycle."
They also added that, despite April's results being revised as a result of the weather variations, "the markets have also not responded in terms of prices."
"Even if production volumes now returned to last year's levels, the campaign would still not recover due to the sharp falls we suffered in March and which will affect our final results," they stated.
Source: Europapress.es
