The fruit harvest has started in Aragon and prospects already point to a decline in volume. The UAGA has estimated the total at 490,000 tonnes, which is 11% less than last season. And despite the fact that the cherry production is expected to reach almost 12,800 tonnes, which is about 15% more than last year and stands above the average of the last ten years. This increase, however, has not been able to compensate for the drops recorded by peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums and apples, where the declines range from 5% to 20%.
The unusual weather conditions, which resulted in atypical temperatures in winter and spring, explain this situation, as noted by the head of the fruit sector and of the labour relations area of this agricultural union, Vicente López. "The trees have been affected by the fact that it has been colder in April than in December," he pointed out.
Nevertheless, the UAGA estimated that, as in previous years, the campaign will allow the hiring of 15,000 workers, although most jobs will be created for the cherry campaign, a crop that is also intensive in terms of labour, while there won't be as much work for the thinning and harvesting of other fruit species.
In any case, the fall in production volumes is not what the sector is most concerned about. This will be the third season with the Russian borders closed to European products, and that, as producers are already well aware, has a lethal impact on prices. "The problem is not the volume of Aragonese fruit that was shipped to that country, but the volume of European fruit flooding the market because of an inability to reach that country." There are also fears about the possibility of the European Union opening its doors to Turkey as compensation for its role in the refugee situation.
Given such circumstances, the UAGA insisted on the need to increase the quotas and withdrawal prices and has asked the Spanish Government to consider measures to regulate the expansion of plantations with non-agricultural funds, not forgetting the urgent need for the Government to allocate "sufficient resources" to carry out effective promotional campaigns for sweet fruit, given the constant and unstoppable fall in consumption.
