The fields of Murcia have again been hit by storms and hail this spring, and this has caused serious damage to crops in the municipalities of Cieza, Blanca and Jumilla.
Manuel Martínez, vice-president of the agricultural cooperatives federation Fecoam, said that "up to one hundred percent of the harvest has been lost in some areas, such as the Macetúa area, where there was a lot of rainfall and hail." The actual extent of the damage has yet to be evaluated.
The stone fruit harvest was in full swing in these areas of the Region, so these products are the most affected.
Other areas that could have been affected are La Carrichosa, La Corredera, El Horno, Elipe or Venta del Olivo, says Martínez.
European meeting
This week, Murcia has also hosted the meeting of the Peach and Nectarine Contact Group of the mixed Italo-Hispano-French Committee, in which the producers of these three European countries have analyzed the situation of the stone fruit campaign and shared information from the three countries.
The agrarian organization Coag in the Region of Murcia has announced that it will ask the Contact Group to ensure all European producers work together "to avoid a new ruinous stone fruit campaign." According to Coag, the profitability of Murcia's fruit farms has fallen significantly in recent seasons, although there has been no decrease in the yield or commercial flow. "While a few years ago we talked about prices of around 1 Euro / kilo at the beginning of the campaign, data corresponding to the last 2-3 campaigns reveal an average that does not exceed 0.50 Euro / kilo," lamented the person in charge of this organization, Pedro García.
Source: laopiniondemurcia.es