December 15th was a turning point for avocado crops in the Canary Islands due to the passage of Dorothea. This polar storm hit the archipelago with winds of up to 140 km/h, causing up to half of the avocado production to be lost in the Western Islands, which account for most of the crops.
"In just a day and a half, we lost 48% of our production, which fell to the ground due to strong winds," says Wenceslao Martínez, manager of Agro Rincón. "This will cut the season short for us in the Canary Islands, which have one of the highest per capita consumption of avocados in Europe, but where the import of avocado plants or plant material from any country is prohibited, even from the mainland."
"That's why we are expecting a season with good prices," he says. "We are also seeing a very high demand from the European market; in fact, we are receiving a lot of calls from mainland Spain and the rest of Europe asking for our avocados, but while we normally only export between 15 and 20% of our production, this year exports will be rather more restricted."
"Agro Rincón has a commercial partner on the mainland through which we export fruit to Europe, mainly to Switzerland, where Canary avocados are highly appreciated. We see that European clients who become familiar with the quality of Canary avocados tend to prefer them, and that's why our goal is to increase our production and export turnover to Europe in the coming years," says Wenceslao.
"Canary Islands avocado is close to obtaining a PGI"
Europe is currently working on the granting of the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) "Aguacate de Canarias" to this fruit, which will officially certify its differentiated quality. At the moment, as reported in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) on December 27, the opposition phase of the application, processed by the Canary Islands Government's Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food Sovereignty through the Canary Islands Institute of Agri-food Quality (ICCA), and requested by the Canary Islands producers (ASGUACAN), is being completed.
If this stage of the procedure is successful, the "Aguacate de Canarias" PGI quality certification could be granted definitively in the course of this year, and Canary avocados would thus become the only one with this European recognition, as was already the case with the granting of PGI status to Canary bananas.
"Avocado cultivation has grown steadily in the archipelago in recent years, and although the drought has brought planting to a halt in La Gomera and Tenerife, we hope that the number of hectares will continue to increase. Moreover, it's good news for the whole sector that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has authorized the use of flupyradifurone against the avocado mealybug (Nipaecoccus nipae)," says Wenceslao.
"With the reduction in the number of active substances allowed to be used in agriculture, this pest has become a problem in avocado cultivation, to the point that some growers have had to abandon their orchards," says Wenceslao. "This authorization will allow us to put the pest at bay and recover the most affected plots, especially now that the Canary Island avocado is on the verge of obtaining its PGI."
For more information:
Agro Rincón S.L.
C/ El Jardín, 120
38410 Los Realejos, Tenerife. Spain
Tel.: +34 922 334 745
administracion@agrorincon.com
https://agrorincon.com/