The fresh fig campaign is already in full swing in Elche, in the Spanish province of Alicante, one of the fruit's main growing areas. It is happening a week earlier than usual due to the early start of the harvest.
We are already harvesting and marketing about 30,000 kilos per day, so our campaign is already in full swing," said Susi Bonet, of the commercial department of the Cambayas cooperative.
"At this time, our production is overlapping with that of other growing, areas, such as Extremadura and Avila, which have also started earlier, so there is a slower and more saturated market, with the added bonus that we are in the middle of the summer holidays period," said Bonet.
"We expect to harvest around 30% more production this season compared to last year," she said, highlighting "the good size of this year's figs; a result of the rains we had during the spring."
However, there has been almost no rainfall since spring, and this, together with the restrictions on the use of water for irrigation, are of concern for the fall and winter season for crops such as broccoli, cauliflower or pomegranate. "This has already had an impact on the watermelon acreage in our region, which has been reduced due to the uncertainty in the water supply," said the Cambayas salesperson.
The cooperative markets 50% of its figs in Spain and France, while the rest goes to other countries, such as the Netherlands and Portugal.
