Andalusia's citrus production during the 2016-2017 season exceeded 2 million tonnes, according to data from the Council of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, supplied after the campaign's completion.
To be precise, this production amounted to 2,094,274 tonnes, which is 1.67 percent above the first estimate and 12.3 percent more than that of the previous year, as reported by the Council in a statement, in which it points out that this increase is due, in part, to the fact that the weather conditions this spring have been favourable for the production of the fruits, with no issues recorded during the setting stage.
Andalusia, with about 31 percent of Spain's total citrus volume (which amounts to 6.7 million tonnes), ranks second in the list of largest producers, only behind the Region of Valencia (3.8 million tonnes).
Andalusia's largest production has once again been registered in Seville, with 823,987 tonnes, followed by Huelva (541,648 tonnes), Cordoba (271,766) and Almeria (216,685 tonnes). In these provinces, there have been increases in production compared to the previous season, especially in Cordoba (+18.8%) and Seville (+17.7%). In Huelva, the increase has been of 14.73 percent, and in Almeria of 2.82 percent.
The citrus production has also grown in Cadiz, where it has reached 66,121 tonnes (+8.24%), while in Granada it has stood at 27,218 tonnes, more than double the volume of the previous year. In the case of the latter province, the first estimate was exceeded by more than 50 percent. Malaga, meanwhile, harvested 146,850 tonnes, which represents a decrease compared to the previous season (-18%).
Sweet oranges
75 percent of Andalusia's citrus production corresponds to sweet oranges, with over 1.5 million tonnes (1,582,683 tons) this year. This is 19 percent more than in the 2015-2016 campaign.
As for mandarins, the production has fallen by 7.7 percent, although it has still exceeded the first estimate by 1.4 percent. In total, 356,838 tonnes of mandarins have been harvested.
Regarding the other citrus fruits, lemons, with 114,151 tonnes; grapefruits (24,386 tonnes) and bitter oranges (10,343 tonnes) have all achieved good results. The rest of the production corresponds to other citrus fruits, such as limes.
Source: Europa Press
