The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, published on its website a study that analyzes the productive reality of the stone fruit sector in Spain in 2020. According to the study, there was a 5% growth in the area devoted to yellow peaches, a 9% increase in the area of cherries, a 7% growth in Donut peaches, and a 15% growth in the area of platerina. The study also states that the 2021 campaign started with good prospects.
According to the study, the areas planted with cherry grew by 9% in the last year, reaching 23,006 hectares. The area devoted to donut peaches increased by 7% and amounted to 10,200 hectares, while the area devoted to platerina, which continues to be a minority crop but has a growing demand, increased by 15% and totaled 500 hectares.
A high percentage of all these crops are made up of plantations that are no older than 5 years. 18% of the cherry crops, 19% of the donut peaches, and 38% of the platerina crops are this young. These plantations have not reached their maturity, so the sector expects an important productive potential for the coming years.
The total area devoted to producing apricots decreased by 1% due to the disappearance of production areas of the traditional yellow varieties. The area devoted to orange varieties increased and now accounts for 58% of the total planted area.
The new peach plantations are being sown with mid-season and late yellow peach varieties, leading to a decrease in the area destined for early peaches. The yellow skin peach already accounts for 45% of the total planted area and experienced a 5% growth in the last year. According to the study, there has been a shift towards yellow early and late nectarines varieties which led to a 16% decrease in the mid-season crop over the past year.
Meanwhile, the surface devoted to producing plums, which in the past 5 years grew by an average interannual rate of 7%, decreased by 12% over the past year.
The study on the stone fruit sector in 2020 is based on data extracted from the Agricultural Production's General Register. This register became mandatory for fruit areas in 2019 to collect information on the crops, varieties, and the year they were planted to better understand the productive reality in Spain. The information is collected via the Single Application of the PAC and the inscriptions in the Agricultural Production's General Registry (REGEPA). This modification has made it easier for the administration to obtain the data.
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Source: fepex.es