Storm Nelson, which hit the Iberian Peninsula this past Easter, has made a significant contribution to replenishing Andalusia's water reserves, thereby improving the prospects for the upcoming irrigation campaign, as far as water allocations are concerned. However, in the province of Huelva, the rainfall and lack of sunlight have caused a noticeable slowdown in the ripening of blueberries just at the start of the campaign's peak production period.
"There has been a halt in the production at a time when there's a good demand for blueberries. Between the middle and the end of this week, we should start getting the volumes we were expecting to have. The problem is that, after such a slow development, the fruit that was yet to ripen will all arrive at once in the coming days," says Higinio Cardona, from Agrícola MC. "In general, we expect a very large supply all across the province of Huelva from April 15 onwards."
So far, "the demand has been greater than the supply," says Higinio, and "prices have been quite good, but this is due to the limited volume from Huelva. Now the production will come all at once at a time when Morocco is already putting some pressure. It's warmer there than here and their fruit ripens earlier, and we see that they are already offering significant volumes."
"We hear that, in general, there is a lower blueberry supply this year, so we hope that will help offset the bad start of the campaign until mid-June, when we'll finish."
For more information:
Agrícola MC
Carretera Gibraleón-San Bartolomé km.4.6
Gibraleón, Huelva, Spain