Further concerns about the UK’s reliance on fresh produce imported from countries such as Spain and Morocco have been raised after much of Huelva in southwestern Spain was hit tornadoes which destroyed large areas of soft fruit production.
According to local reports Storm Laurence saw two tornados damage up to 400 hectares of greenhouses and polytunnels across a number of municipalities on 17 March. The latest damage follows other tornadoes which the region has experienced in recent months.
‘The tornadoes have destroyed the macro-tunnels, tearing up the plastic, pushing the structures over the plants, and twisting the ironwork of the greenhouses,’ said the Freshuelva producer group. ‘This has caused two types of damage: to the infrastructures, which will have to be rebuilt and covered with new plastic sheeting before another squall arrives on Thursday that will bring more rain, and to the plants, as a great amount of water has entered the affected strawberry plantations. In the blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry plantations, the fallen infrastructures have broken bushes and plants that were currently in production.’
The weather has also increased the risk of flooding as growers have gone from irrigation restrictions to overflowing reservoirs in just a few days. As well as the damage, there is concern about the effect of the wet weather on crop quality and yield. High humidity is anticipated to reduce yields by 15-20 per cent and fruit ripening has been delayed.
“March is a very important month for Huelva’s strawberries, as that’s when they have their place in the market, so these losses have happened at a fundamental part of the season,” Freshuelva manager Rafael Domínguez Guillén told Freshplaza. “Now we can only hope that these will be the last rains, and that we’ll have some respite at the beginning of spring so that we can have a little more peace of mind than we’ve had so far this season, and that we’ll be able to export and market without any issues so that growers in the province can obtain the highest possible profitability.”
While Huelva is the latest region to suffer from adverse weather, growers’ groups in other key production regions including Alicante and Seville have reported wet weather affecting a range of vegetables, fruit and potatoes in both outdoor and protected production. In Almeria, “Melon and watermelon pollination is being seriously affected. An increase in the area had been announced, but, to date, it is not clear that this increase in the number of hectares planted will lead to an increase in production. The hives are already in place in some farms but pollination is practically impossible under the current weather conditions. It’s a real disaster,” according to Andrés Góngora of COAG Almeria.
