Cordoba's garlic campaign will start in the middle of May. According to Miguel del Pino, the president of the national garlic sector and the Asaja Cordoba sector, the prospects for the campaign in the province are interesting now that the market is empty.
Cordoba's garlic is the first garlic to enter the market, so producers expect to sell it at a good price; so long as the weather doesn't affect the production like it did last year when the rains damaged part of the harvest, he stated. This effect and the shortage of Chinese garlic due to the pandemic led to a considerable increase in demand and has favored the start of the campaign as there is no surplus.
"Producers always fear that it will rain at the time of the harvest. Garlic has to be left outdoors for several days to dry, so the rains would spoil part of the production because they would darken the product's outer layers. The product would be ok on its inside, but it would no longer be attractive to the market. This would be devastating, especially because 90% of Cordoba's production is destined for export," said Del Pino.
The province currently has some 2,000 hectares of garlic, an area similar to that of previous years, which are expected to produce 30 to 40 million kilos. White Spring garlic accounts for 80% of Cordoba's production, while the red garlic only accounts for 20%.
Garlic moves around 50 million euro in Cordoba each year, according to Del Pino. The industry generates some 400,000 or 500,000 wages in the province in harvesting, warehouse transformation, and transportation, including direct and indirect jobs. It is the epicenter of Cordoba's activity in Montalban and its region (Santaella, Aguilar, and Puente Genil).
Source: diariocordoba.com