Avocado production has grown remarkably this year in the Spanish province of Huelva. According to estimates from the sector, this year's winter harvest has increased by around 30%, "and the growth could have been even greater, although we are still far from achieving 100% of the expected production for the hectares planted in the province," says José María Marín Poley, manager of Valle de Guadiana.
"Due to the drought, the use of available water has had to be optimized, and production has been limited to ensure that the hectares we had in production had sufficient irrigation so that good calibers could be obtained. Thus, most have had part of their trees pruned," he says. "This has allowed us to achieve better yields per hectare, although the total usable area has been reduced, and that probably applies to most production companies in the province. In our case, we have taken advantage of these circumstances to make improvements and renovations in some plots."
It is worth recalling that Huelva has quickly established itself as the third province with the highest number of planted hectares in the Andalusia region. In fact, its acreage has doubled in just two years, going from 700 hectares in the 2021/22 season to 1,400 in the 2023/24 campaign.
"The good thing is that this year's weather conditions have been ideal. We haven't had any days with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, and compared to 2023, the number of days with 35 degrees has been reduced by half. This has helped us obtain good yields and sizes, which this year will generally be medium to large," says José María.
"Huelva remains very appealing to marketing companies. Although a bit late, we are starting to see demand for the fruit. However, the market has had a remarkably slow start. I would say that 80% of the fruit is still on the trees and it is unusual that so little has been cut in December," he says.
"In spite of the fact that our campaign could start at the end of November/December, it seems that most companies are starting their harvests from January onwards, due to the fact that in the last months of the year, there is fruit from more sources on the market. And for us, Morocco has been the one that has made the greatest impact," he says.
"Neither Chile nor Colombia has had as much of an impact on our market as Morocco. It is a nearby source and they tend to start with a slightly lower price, which sets the trend for the rest, so the quality of our fruit and the environmental and social sustainability of our crops are not rewarded with higher prices."
"For the time being, prices are still lower than last year, when over 3 euros per kilo were paid for large calibers, which are currently sold for between 2.70 and 2.90 euros, and it seems that medium and small calibers are in higher demand this year," says José María.
"We can only hope that prices will recover as the season progresses and that we'll have rains like the ones recorded these days in western Andalusia, so that next season there will be enough irrigation to keep 100% of the province's avocado acreage productive, and that things will go back to normal for the industry 
in Huelva. As far as we are concerned, we are optimistic about the coming seasons, even more so after the recent rains," he says.
"In this context, Valle del Guadiana is carrying out a research project on hydroponic avocado cultivation, aiming to determine whether this method could allow us to reduce and optimize water consumption in the fruit's production, making the crop more efficient and sustainable. To this end, we have a project backed by the Center for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) and we are working together with the University of Huelva, and the first results seem very promising," he says.
For more information:
Guadiana Valley
Tel.: +34 917 991 555
[email protected]
https://valledelguadiana.com/