The pomegranate season has already started in the fields of Elche, Spain's main producing area, with the Valencia variety. The Mollar, which is the most popular one, is expected to arrive in late September.
This year the sector expects a greater harvest, regaining the 30% drop registered last year due to the impact of drought and problems in the setting.
"Luckily we have not been affected by the hailstorms that hit other areas of Valencia, although the issues caused by excess heat are similar to last year's and around 20% of the fruit will go to the processing industry," explains José Manuel Blasco, of the technical department of the producer and marketer Cambayas, which ships around 12,000 tonnes of pomegranates per year.
The extension of the Russian veto will complicate the campaign
According to Susi Bonet, sales person at Cambayas, with greater volumes and the absence of the Russian market, which used to absorb between 25 and 30% of the Spanish pomegranate production, the campaign will certainly not be easy.
"Last year's drop in production made up for the Russian veto, but this year our production is back to normal levels and it will be very difficult to sell all the large calibre fruit which we used to ship to Russia, and this is disastrous for the sector," she points out.
With the recently announced extension of the veto until next summer, the industry is looking for alternatives to Russia. "We are making an effort to open new markets in Brazil and to increase shipments to the United Arab Emirates and Europe," explains Susi Bonet.
Moreover, the Valencian Government has already asked the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment to take the necessary steps to ensure that pomegranates, just like khakis, receive compensatory aid from the European Union.
In any case, Europe remains the main destination for the pomegranates, with Spain and France as the largest markets. "In Spain, consumption has gone from zero to growing year after year thanks to the promotion of the fruit's healthy benefits and consumer awareness in this regard. In fact, nearly 50% of our production is already sold in Spain," she affirms. She adds that "thanks to the logistic advantage for domestic pomegranates compared to those of other origins there is no room for imported fruit due to its high prices."
The main pomegranate varieties in Elche are the Mollar and Valencia, which account for 90% of the total, and over the last two years more Wonderful has been planted. "The sector is heavily advertising new varieties with more intense colours and larger sizes, but these are not yet in production and do not represent a significant volume in the market," concludes Susi Bonet.
