The Pimiento Asado del Bierzo Protected Geographical Indication expects to begin planting this year's peppers production on Friday, one week later than usual, because the rains delayed this activity.
The volume of water accumulated on the ground didn't allow producers to plant the peppers, so the regulatory council has had to delay the distribution of 130,000 seedlings that the PGI annually requests from the Almazcara nursery. The delay, which can be annoying for producers, doesn't pose a problem for the plants' development and won't affect their potential production volume nor the possible number of blooms.
The president of the regulatory council, Pedro Garcia, said it would be ideal if they produced 150,000 kilos of peppers as they only produced 95,000 kilos in last year's campaign. So far, registrations are still open for new producers and nobody knows how many there will be, but Garcia expects there will be about a dozen new producers thanks to the courses conducted in collaboration with the Land Bank.
Last year, producers planted 14 hectares, a number that could increase this year, which would be beneficial for the added value businesses that have had limited production results in several campaigns and currently are lacking stock.
Source: cadenaser.com