Spain: Positive balance on the avocado campaign

Good news in the Malaga fields. Farmers dedicated to avocado cultivation showed again the results of their good practices, with some turnover numbers highlighting stability and consolidation of a leading sector. Once again, the cultivation of this exotic fruit, concentrated in the Axarquia area, with more than 6,000 hectares of production, becomes a reference point for modern and quality agriculture, and the hardest part of it, with profit.

According to data collected by ASAJA Málada and compared with the data from the World Association of Producers and the Exporters Association AECA, the campaign ends with great numbers: 40,000 tons of production with a turnover of 53 million Euro. More than 70% of that amount is produced by Málaga.

If these numbers are compared with the ones from the year before, some wrong conclusions can be made. There is a drop in production of 38% as the production reached 64,000 tons, a historical peak. "We have to account for the fact that avocado is a tree by turns, meaning, this year its production was inferior. Although we are quite happy with the campaign results, because they're higher than the medium production and turnover levels", said Benjamín Faulí, fruits and vegetables technician at ASAJA-Málaga, adding that: "By opposition to the majority of field products, avocado is quoting in the market".

Apart from the alternate mode, there's a weather factor that caused the drop in production. Axarquía suffered several Siberian cold waves causing 2,000 tons of avocado to be thrown away. Producers in the sector showed, once again, their professionalism by removing the damaged fruit from the market right away, in order to not damage the good image of this product in the market.

Source: Asaja-Málaga