The Region of Murcia's pepper season, which took place between March and August, was very positive as the production volume, quality, and sales figures achieved were excellent, stated Eva Pérez, president of Proexport's pepper sector.
"This year, weather conditions have been very favorable in our area. We had very good temperatures, without excessive heat, so we had the optimal conditions for flowering. As a result, we had a very high-quality product, even better than that of the Netherlands (our main competitor), and with a very satisfactory production yield per hectare," she said.
"The weather played in our favor, but the determining factor in this season's success was the important commitment that the sector has made in recent years to invest in new technologies and R+D+i, from the field to the table," Pérez said to highlight that these results were not the result of luck or chance.
She also said that the entire sector is actively working to improve climate conditions in greenhouses, pest control, and, of course, the efficient use of water. However, the ban on the use of some phytosanitary products that are key to the development of pepper crops and soil disinfection, and which are allowed in other countries, forces Murcian producers to resort to techniques such as solarization and to stop production in August to achieve optimal disinfection for the next season. This decreases their production calendar by almost a month when compared to normal production.
"Proexport has repeatedly stated that the lack of phytosanitary products reduces production and limits our competitiveness against other countries," Pérez said. Despite this, the Region of Murcia continues to be Spain's second largest pepper-producing area, after Almeria, with an annual production of 200,000 tons, which are grown on 1,745 hectares. More than 1,400 hectares are produced under greenhouse conditions, 352 of which (25%) are organic crops and the remaining 1,075 hectares (75%) correspond to the conventional sustainable model, according to data from Proexport and the MAPA.
"Quality was very high this season. Our peppers had no shape, uniformity, or pest issues. The peppers' color and sizes were good, they had a very resistant wall and an exquisite flavor, which captivated the Spanish and European consumers," concluded the representative of Proexport.
For more information:
Proexport
Ronda de Levante, 1, Entlo.
30008 Murcia (Spain)
Tel: +34 646 27 80 50
Email: [email protected]
www.proexport.es