Cucumber growers in the province of Almeria have made a smaller profit than in the previous campaign, according to estimations by Hortoinfo, based on data from the Council of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development of Andalusia and its Prices and Markets Observatory.
A higher yield per square metre has not been able to compensate for the higher production costs and a lower average price.
The net income achieved by Almeria's cucumber producers has amounted to 31.52 million Euro, after deducting production costs, the maintenance of greenhouse facilities and the overheads. This total net income has dropped by 14.57 percent compared to that of the previous year, which stood at 36.9 million Euro.
Revenue and costs
Total revenue for producers has amounted to 449 million Euro, 39,100 Euro per hectare. During the campaign, Almeria has produced a total of 425.91 million kilos of cucumbers on 4,900 hectares.
Production costs, according to the latest report of the Prices and Markets Observatory of the Government of Andalusia, stand at 3.27 Euro per square metre.
The average price has been of 0.45 Euro per square metre, calculated by dividing the growers' total income by the total cucumber production volume.
The average yield has been of 8.69 kilos per square metre, obtained by dividing the total output by the number of hectares devoted to the crop.
A gross profit of 3.91 Euro per square metre has been obtained, which after deducting all costs is reduced to a net profit of 0.64 Euro/m²; 0.07 Euro per kilo.
Profit per hectare
Each greenhouse hectare in the province of Almeria devoted to the cultivation of cucumbers has generated an average net profit of 6,400 Euro, with a gross income of 39,100 Euro per hectare.
