Heat wave accelerates stone fruit harvest in Aragon

The region of Aragon, Spain, has about 3,200 stone fruit farms, of which 90% are more than 3 hectares in size. This makes the region the leader in stone fruit production in the country.

At the moment, the campaign develops rapidly and its completion could be advanced up to 2 weeks in certain areas.

The heat at week 33 further accelerated the ripening of stone fruits, taking to account that the harvest was already early. Farmers are concerned that the skin of the fruit may be burned, and the product will not have an outlet on the market.

According to the Union of Farmers and Ranchers of Aragon (UAGA), this year is characterized by "acceptable prices" but "not sufficient" due to the drop in production caused by the frosts in March. This atmospheric phenomenon has completely conditioned this campaign.

The Bajo Cinca and Cinca Medio regions were the most affected. Harvesting in these territories is around 50% lower than last year.

In these regions, 20% of the harvest remains to be recollected: the pear

According to Óscar Moret, head of the fruit sector at UAGA, it has been a bad year for these areas and at the beginning of September there will be very little left on the trees. He added that insurance only covers 70% of losses caused by frost.

For other fruit growing areas of Aragon, the season has moderate production volumes.

In regards to cherry, it has a better production volume. However, prices have fallen due to their smaller size of the fruit. The main productive municipalities are Ricla, Caspe, La Almunia and Calatayud.

The other factor that is threatening the Aragonese stone fruit sector is the appearance of the Sharka-m virus in the Mazaleón municipality, Teruel province. According to UAGA, 80% of the local peach trees (105 hectares) will have to be uprooted. In addition, the sector will have to be restructured with the help of the Government of Aragon. However, experts believe that the outbreak is controlled and is only affecting the peach.