At this stage of the campaign, the Andalusian strawberry production, 95% of which is concentrated in the province of Huelva, is 50% lower than last year, although that downward volume has made it possible for the fruit to be sold for higher prices.
This has been revealed in the latest campaign monitoring report, carried out by the Markets and Prices Observatory of the Council of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development of Andalusia, in which it is stated that the decline in average temperatures in mid-February has taken a toll on the strawberry production.
Moreover, it is noted that the humidity of the environment has increased as a result of rainfall, leading to the appearance of phytosanitary problems, such as botrytis or powdery mildew, although this campaign has also been marked by the strong growth of varieties resistant to these diseases, such as the Rociera.
Although all varieties are already in production, including the less precocious ones, like the Candonga, the harvest volume up until the fourth week of January has been approximately 50% lower than in the same period of the previous year, even though the 2015/16 campaign kicked off with exceptionally high volumes.
This lower volume explains the better prices reached this season, with growers receiving an average of 1.96 Euro/kg, compared to 1.34 Euro/kg in the 2015/2016 campaign.
