Forecasts for the stone fruit and watermelon/melon cam paigns in Spain

Forecasts for the stone fruit and watermelon/ melon campaigns in Spain

In just a few weeks, European consumers will once again be able to enjoy the first Spanish stone fruits; highly-seasonal products that even lack a significant off-season fresh supply. However, the sector has good reason to be cautious with its forecasts.

Last year’s campaign was marked by the effects of the unusual cold snap that swept the continent in the spring and drastically reduced the European harvest, causing the production on the continent to drop by 19% compared to the previous year, and by 35% compared to the average of the five previous campaigns. Fortunately, this year, at least until the end of March, frosts haven’t been a cause for concern; and not only because there have been no episodes of damaging cold, but also because the whole sector is currently mostly concerned with the unprecedented escalation of costs, which is seriously threatening the profitability of farms.

Stone fruit trees have awakened from winter at a time when the pandemic, which we must not forget is still going strong, has actually lost some prominence in the public eye due to the magnitude of the war caused by Russia in Ukraine, whose harsh effects have been felt at all levels: from the most serious, the humanitarian, to those of global security or the economy.

In the midst of a crossfire of sanctions, warnings and intimidations, and other extreme threats (atomic bombs, biological and chemical weapons, world wars, etc.), the cost of fuels, materials and fertilizers has risen to levels described as “unsustainable”, and will leave their mark on a sector, the stone fruit sector, already affected since 2014, when Russia annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea and began to distance itself from the European Union, as well as from legality.

“In the area of the Vega del Guadalquivir many stone fruit plantations are being uprooted.” In fact, since the veto imposed by Russia on EU agri-food products almost 8 years ago (through which it made it clear that it did not intend to backtrack for a restoration of relations with one of its greatest food suppliers), the acreage devoted to stone fruit in Spain, both new and older plantations, has been falling across the board. Such is the case of the Guadalquivir Valley, one of the country’s most precocious producing areas.

“In this area, many stone fruit plantations are being uprooted,” says Roberto Cruz, manager of the cooperative San Sebastian, based in the Seville municipality of Lora del Rio. “In general, growers are feeling discouraged. Prices are not good and stone fruit is a labour-intensive product with very high production costs, so there are growers who are opting for other alternatives. In fact, while the acreage devoted to peaches, nectarines or flat peaches is being reduced, super-intensive olive groves and citrus continue to gain ground.”

Photo credit: San Sebastian

able, extracted from the Analysis of the Production Reality of Stone Fruit 2020, published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) last spring, the acreage devoted to stone fruit in Spain fell by 4% compared to 2019. In the case of peaches, the drop amounted to 11%, and in that of nectarines it reached 9%.

In Andalusia, the situation is especially critical for flat peaches. Even though this is only a moderately cultivated crop, the acreage fell by 35% compared to 2019. The data shared by the Ministry reveal an increase in the Andalusian peach tree area, although this is not the case in the largest producing province, Seville, where the 720 hectares recorded in 2019 fell to 590 in just one year. The data corresponding to 2020 reveals that Seville is the province of Andalusia with the highest number of hectares, not only of peaches, but also of nectarines, flat peaches and plums. In 2020, the acreage devoted to these fruits was reduced by 14%, 29%, and 4%, respectively.

“Eight to 10 years ago, this was the earliest stone fruit production area, but with the expansion of greenhouse cultivation in Huelva and the increase in the number of plantations in the Murcia area, the volume available at the beginning of the campaign has grown. And we have to take into account that at the end of April/beginning of May the temperatures in Europe are not that high yet, so the consumption in that extra-early period is lower.” “If we overlap with other producing areas, while production costs are high and consumption is relatively low, the fruit does not reach the right price, so the situation becomes very difficult. And more so because these extra-early varieties are generally royalty-bearing varieties that require large investments from the growers,” says Roberto. “A lot of work has been done to produce tasty varieties that can ripen and reach the right Brix levels, size and colour in a very short period of time, but the costs are very high and there comes a time when a minimum critical mass is needed to make it profitable.”

“THE PRICES AT WHICH OUR FRUIT IS SOLD SHOULD GO UP”

In the region of Aragon, peach, nectarine, flat peach, and platerina trees are cover-

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ing the fields with white and pink flowers. This region was precisely the most affected by the unfavourable weather conditions in March and April last season.

“Last year we lost 9 million kilos of fruit to frost. We went from the more than 26 million kilos of fruit we produced in 2020 to fewer than 18 million kilos,” says Adrià Serrano, sales manager of the company Frutas La Espesa, based in the Huesca municipality of Zaidín. “However, for now everything is going well. Overall, the flowering has started as it does every year, within the usual schedule, and, unlike other areas of Spain, we believe Huesca will have enough water to face the campaign, despite the lack of rainfall this winter and the lack of snowfall in the Pyrenees.”

Consumption is another aspect to take into account, says Adrià. Data on fruit consumption in Spanish households reveal a trend in the stone fruit segment that requires further analysis. We should bear in mind that the 2020 demand figures were strongly influenced by the lockdown periods; therefore, the 6% year-onyear fall in 2021 recorded by the MAPA Food Consumption Panel, with data up to November, should be interpreted with caution; but it highlights the fact that the sharpest falls in fruit consumption correspond to stone fruit.

“We don’t quite know why this is happening. Perhaps supermarkets have tried to increase their profit margins with this fruit and consumers find it expensive. What we do know is that this season will be greatly influenced by the war in Ukraine, which in addition to removing a huge market, will be a blow to the economy at a time when the unstoppable rise in the prices of raw materials is making our business very difficult,” says Adrià Serrano.

“The increase in the price of the wood pallets on which the fruit rests when we transport it has singled-handedly made the price 0.7 cents per kilo more expensive. The price of the pallets has gone from 5.80 to 11.80 Euro and we are already being told that they are going to increase even more. The increase per kilo of fruit seems small, but it becomes significant considering we produce more than 40 million kilos of stone fruit, citrus and kakis. In fact, the total increase exceeds 200,000 Euro.” “The cost of boxes and plastics has also been increasing over the past year. Before we started with the kaki campaign we bought 14 truckloads of plastic baskets to pack the fruit. We have already used 8

Photo credit: Frutas La Espesa

trucks of plastic baskets and we still have 6 left. Well, the increase is such that those 6 trucks of baskets are now allowing us to save the price for which we bought them 6 months ago: about 40,000 Euro.”

“The cost of electricity has also skyrocketed. In our facilities we have solar panels and, in the summer, energy became so expensive that we have paid the same as if we didn’t have them,” says Adrià.

“What is clear is that, given this situation, the prices at which we sell fruit will have to go up. At Frutas La Espesa we are still confident in our project and in stone fruit production, but the reality is that in Aragon there are many producers who have already stopped planting stone fruit and have switched to other crops, mainly almond trees.” are a recognition to a differentiated quality, provide added value to fruits such as the Calanda Peach or the Cieza Peach; although these are not the only way to add value to a production.

VALUE-ADDED FRUIT IN CASTILE-LA MANCHA

Although the reduction in the stone fruit acreage is widespread, there are also exceptions. The PDO’s and PGI’s, which One of the Spanish regions where there has been an increase in stone fruit cultivation is Castile-La Mancha, where according to figures from the Ministry, the production grew by 31% in 2020. Production in this autonomous region is carried out mostly in the southeast of Albacete, on the border with the Region of Murcia, says José Carlos Blazquez, manager of Prodalbar.

“This area has traditionally grown apricots and peaches, mostly yellow ones, intended for the processing industry. At Prodalbar we also have some varieties for the fresh market, as well as some flat peaches, but we focus on the production of apricots with zero residue intended for baby food, which gives greater added value to our production. In fact, we work with the main baby food processing companies in Spain.” “In the industry, stone fruit prices remain very stable, with variations of only a few cents from one year to the next. In the specific case of apricots, we have already had a few years with good prices ranging between 70 and 80 cents per kilo, with a demand greater than the available supply.”

“As for canned peaches, consumption is dropping quite a bit, so it all depends on the harvest in Europe, mainly that of Greece and Italy. That is why in the peach segment there is a widespread transfer to fresh consumption varieties.”

MELON AND WATERMELON

“Almeria’s melon and watermelon production expected to drop by up to 30%”

Melons and watermelons, like stone fruit, are also purely summer fruits, and their campaign will start this spring with the harvest of the first fruits in April in the greenhouses of Almeria. However, Asaja Almeria’s initial prospects point to production figures dropping this campaign.

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“Last season’s disaster is still in the memory of producers. This year, due to the weather conditions we are having, prices have been quite acceptable and producers have extended their cucumber, courgette and bell pepper campaigns to take advantage of those prices. The high production costs must also be taken into account. The costs of seeds, water, fertilisers or energy have all increased, and the high prices of energy and gas are actually causing a delay in the arrival of Central European crops, which is good for Spanish vegetables,” says the president of Asaja Almeria, Antonio Navarro. “In this sense, we must recall that the greenhouses of Almeria are solar greenhouses capable of producing vegetables for the whole of Europe in the middle of winter using only the energy from the sun,” says Antonio.

“That is why, at Asaja Almeria, and according to the data we have, we estimate that Almeria’s melon and watermelon production could drop by around 30% compared to last year.”

“This situation will certainly result in the harvests being more staggered,” says Antonio. “As for the fruit in the province planted in the open ground, in the area of eastern Almeria where watermelons are most common, we believe that the reduction will also amount to around 25-30%, mostly because of problems with the transfer and supply of water.”

Water is, in fact, one of the factors generating the most concerns in the Andalusian fields, following a winter that, according to available records, has been the second driest and the fourth warmest since 1961 (three of them in the 21st century). The State Meteorological Agency predicts that the spring will be equally warm, half a degree above average, and also drier, at least on the Atlantic side.

LESS CANTALOUPE, GALIA AND YELLOW MELON THIS SEASON

Despite the impact caused by the weather on melons and watermelons last season (let us remember that the summer was unusually cold and rainy on the continent), the final balance of the Spanish campaign was good for watermelon exports, which grew by 10% compared to 2020 and by 11% compared to the average of the previous five years; however, the results were not as good at origin.

Data from the balance of the 2021 melon and watermelon campaign published last October by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food revealed a significant drop in the price received by growers for their fruit.

According to the report, the national average price at origin for seedless black watermelon was 28% lower than in 2020 and 16% lower than the average of the previous five years. And this coincided with 19% higher government regulated withdrawals of watermelon to balance the market in 2021 compared to the previous year.

In the province of Almeria specifically, data from the Prices and Markets Observatory estimated the fall compared to the previous year at 36.7%.

Regarding melons, exports fell by 5% compared to the previous year and by 6% compared to the average of the last 5 years, while the average national prices at origin suffered a drop that, for Piel de Sapo melons, was estimated at 27% compared to 2020 and at 23% compared to the average of the previous 5 years. In Almeria, the Observatory claims that prices at origin have fallen more than the national average, with a 28.6% drop. “For many years, Asaja has been denouncing that the fruit at the beginning of the Spanish campaign coincides on the shelves with the fruit from overseas. Almeria, which supplies the first European melons and watermelons each season, harvests the crops when they are in their prime in terms of ripeness, and these are delivered freshly harvested to consumers, as opposed to the fruit that has to travel for days and even weeks in containers.”

“One of the consequences of the overlap between these products and the fruit from the Spanish season is that they bring prices down. Another is that the production itself is affected,” says Antonio Navarro. “In fact, Cantaloupe melon has been losing ground in the province for several seasons now, and this applies also to Galia and yellow melons, which are affected by competition, especially from Morocco. That is why growers are increasingly opting for Piel de Sapo melons; a variety that, for now, faces less foreign competition, and of which there are increasingly more varieties with sizes better adapted to the demands of the European market.”

After starting in Almeria, the campaign will continue in other Spanish production areas such as Murcia, the Region of Valencia and Castile-La Mancha, which will closely follow the situation in the province, as it will give many clues as to how this season could develop. The season appears to be as unpredictable as all the previous ones, but current events such as the pandemic that started already two years ago and the war in Ukraine are making this word, “unpredictability”, acquire even more strength..