The lands used in Almeria's intensive agricultural model continue to be the most expensive.of Spain. The price of a hectare for irrigated greenhouse vegetables in this area stands at 303,419 euros, a record price that increased by 11% in just one year, according to the 2023 Land Price Survey published by the Regional Government of Andalusia.
The province of Almeria has the least useable agricultural land (203,381 hectares, 4% of the Andalusian total), so each hectare is highly valued. In addition, protected and intensive agriculture does not require large areas. In fact, the average farm in Almeria only has 7.7 hectares. However, compared to last year's survey, these were not the lands with the highest price increase in Almeria. Open-field vegetable production lands with irrigation experienced the biggest price increase, as their value grew by 16% to 48,897 euros per hectare (on average).
The second most expensive agricultural lands in the province of eastern Andalusia are citrus farms with irrigation (52,343 euros/hectare) and the lands used to grow olives for oil with irrigation ( 36,589 euros/ hectare on average).
Farms dedicated to protected agriculture in Grenada are especially expensive, as the average price of a hectare stands at 313,316 euros and, in some cases, can almost reach 400,000 euros.
In Andalusia, the price of the farms dedicated to growing subtropical products (avocado and mango, mainly) has increased exponentially. In Malaga, a province where this type of crop is more widespread, the average hectare of a farm with irrigation dedicated to these products exceeds 124,000 euros. In Grenada, a hectare costs 127,294 euros. In the province of Huelva, prices per hectare also exceed 124,000 euros.
The most expensive land in Huelva, by far, is the land with irrigation used to grow strawberries, with 151,809 euros per hectare; the second-highest figure in Andalusia, only behind Grenadian greenhouses. This type of farm is in high demand thanks to Huelva's prominence in the world's strawberry and berry markets. Huelva accounts for 97% of Spain's and a third of the EU's strawberry production.
The land with the highest economic value in Seville continues to be the citrus farms with irrigation. The lands used to grow oranges cost 47,610 euros per hectare and the one to produce mandarins 48,344 euros per hectare. The lands used to grow stone fruits and other temperate fruit have also increased, up to 11%, to 41,908 euros per hectare.
The most valuable farms in Cádiz are open-field agricultural production sites with irrigation used to grow vegetables. Cádiz has 10,434 farms and is the province with the largest average size per farm, (42.9 hectares on average) well above Huelva (31.8 hectares), Seville (33.9 hectares), and Córdoba (24.4 hectares).
Source: sevilla.abc.es