The plum harvest has already started in the Spanish province of Badajoz, in the Extremadura region, where production is expected to fall by more than 30% compared to last year and by 50% to 60% compared to 2022, when yields had been normal. Low fruiting and the reduction in cultivated areas to make way for other, more profitable crops in recent years have led to a significant reduction in plum volumes this season.
“We are already starting to harvest early varieties such as Early Queen, a black plum with yellow flesh whose production will drop by around 60% this year, and next week we will start picking Black Splendor, whose volume will decrease around 40%,” says Maximiliano González, from the sales department of Frutas Nene, located in the municipality of Valdecalzada, Badajoz.
The biggest drop in production will undoubtedly affect the yellow plum varieties, in particular the Golden Globe, which will see its volume drop by 90% compared to the 2023 campaign. “This is a significant loss of volume, given that yellow plums represent around 20% of our production; that is to say, about half a million kilos of Golden Globe,” explains Maximiliano.
A drop in the plum harvest is also expected in other production areas in Spain, as well as in France, so it will definitely be a year of low plum supply in Europe. “With such a decrease in the plum harvest, we expect prices to remain high and with little fluctuation, since in July there is usually more supply and prices fall,” says the sales representative by Frutas Nene.
“The area devoted to plum cultivation in Extremadura has been significantly reduced due to increased production costs, labor shortages and lack of generational succession. This is why, at the same time, the area intended for the production of industrial olives and tomatoes has increased. There has been a fairly good regulation of supply and demand in the plum market,” says Maximiliano González. “However, we continue to grow slightly each year. »
Frutas Nene produces between 3.5 and 4 million kilos of fruit and 90% of this total corresponds to plums, which are distributed to various countries in Europe, including the domestic market, as well as to Canada.
For more information :
Maximiliano Gonzalez
Frutas Nene
Ctra. from Guadiana, s/n Km. 0.5
06185 Valdelacalzada. Badajoz. Spain
Such. : +34 924 44 61 93
Cell: +34 630 35 08 26
[email protected]
www.frutasnene.com
