In the Spanish province of Huelva, the strawberry campaign has already recovered the usual production levels after the first half of the campaign with a drop of about 50% in the volume marketed. Storm Filomena, followed by periods of constant rain and cloudy days, caused not just a drop in the productivity, but also a significant reduction of the marketed volumes, as moisture issues took a toll on the quality of the fruit.
Rafael Dominguez, manager of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Strawberries from Huelva (Freshuelva). says “April is the month in which Huelva’s strawberry production peaks and the fruit has the best Brix levels, color and flavor, as there are more hours of sunshine. We hope that the weather will be good these days, although the development of the pandemic in northern Europe is not encouraging. Germany, the main importer of Spanish strawberries, is on the verge of a new lockdown and is imposing tighter mobility restrictions; something that could affect us directly. “
The next two weeks will therefore be crucial for Huelva’s exporters, since local fruit is expected to become available in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany or France, among others, from the second half of April, so Spanish strawberries will lose market share.