A week after the floods that hit Spain, “the worst storm of the century” was declared by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez the day after the disaster which caused the death of more than 200 people and destroyed thousands of buildings. hectares of crops, certain French operators are worried about supplies and are already seeing problematic arrivals.
Losses caused by Dana are estimated at 1.89 billion euros
In a press release published yesterday, the Valencian agricultural organization AVA-ASAJA estimates agricultural losses in the Valencia region at 1.89 billion euros. “The damage is catastrophic. […] The expected damage to agricultural crops awaiting harvest is 278 million, with the most affected crops being citrus fruits (192 million), persimmons (54 million), vegetables (24.8 million) and avocados ( 7.2 million). Many of these crops were in the middle of harvest season, especially the early varieties of tangerines and persimmons. The agricultural infrastructure sector is even more important, with 486 million estimated damages. AVA-ASAJA estimates losses at 260 million in rural roads, 120 million in irrigation infrastructure (ponds, main pipes, irrigation wells, etc.), 15 million in greenhouses, 54 million in plots with irrigation localized, 25 million in rural buildings and 12 million. millions in walls, fences and enclosures. The damage to the plots due to root asphyxiation, which will require replanting to maintain agricultural activity, amounts to 85.5 million euros. Likewise, the damage caused to plots washed away by floods, which will require timely treatment and replanting, amounts to 59.4 million. The damage caused by DANA to agricultural machinery and vehicles amounts to 10 million. Regarding breeding facilities, losses exceed 20.5 million.
For crops awaiting harvest, the area sanctioned by DANA amounts to 21,137 hectares: 15,908 hectares of citrus, 3,327 hectares of persimmons, 1,149 hectares of vegetables, 603 hectares of ornamental and nursery plants and 150 hectares of avocados. The main crops of the arid zones had already been harvested, such as cereals, wine grapes, almond trees, carob trees and olive groves. In irrigated crops, among the productions already collected, fruit trees, summer vegetables and rice stand out, although in the latter sector there is concern about the negative repercussions that could cause floods and the washing away of goods. towards the natural park of La. L’Albufera.
AVA-ASAJA also warns that many plots have been completely flooded, so in addition to crop losses, tree crops could suffer damage from root asphyxiation and it may be necessary to uproot trees. In the case of flooded vegetables, the losses are total. With many farm access roads still destroyed, some agricultural products awaiting harvest will not be able to reach the market.
“Fruit arrived rotten”
“Some fields are still impossible to access and in any case the fruits must first dry on the tree,” explains an operator based in Perpignan. It is impossible to pick fruits that are saturated with water because once packaged there is a phenomenon, initially invisible – the water stain – which causes the fruit to rot during transport. Consequences ? “For the moment French operators are living on their stocks, arrivals are becoming rarer, and the goods are of poor quality, some fruits, particularly citrus fruits, arrive very damaged”
“Spanish producers will be very attentive to prices in the coming weeks,” continues the operator, referring to the merchandise sold outside the program. All producers will revise their prices upwards, so prices will increase among wholesalers and consequently for the end customer. Distributors will logically turn to other origins, and in particular Portuguese, Moroccan and Italian citrus fruits, which will logically increase prices.”
Photo : Dreamstime
