A cold snap which has been felt across most of Europe this week is taking its toll as far south as Valencia and Murcia in Spain. Temperatures as low as -8°C struck citrus groves in Valencia and vegetable and salad growing areas of Murcia experienced -6°C during the night of December 16-17.

The situation in Valencia and Murcia has been compounded by persistent rainfall from December 17 making both harvesting and assessment of damage very difficult.

The Murcia federation of agricultural co-ops, Fecoam, reported that losses are still being assessed. 'The cold weather has damaged, artichoke, iceberg, citrus and cut flower crops and we are assessing damages,' said a spokesman. 'We are looking at direct effects were product is too damaged to market and the indirect effect whereby plant growth is delayed on crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, leek and lettuce which will have an effect on the market when large volumes of product all become available at once.' Local press reports quote the region's agriculture authorities quantifying the damage, but according to Fecoam these estimates refer just to values and are likely to be considerably lower than its own assessment due out by the weekend.

Meanwhile, the situation appeared less serious in the soft-fruit growing region around Huelva where Freshuelva director general ManuelVerdier confirmed that 'the crop is in tact, we haven't had any problems with frost'.

Specialist berry importer AFI Direct Sales backed this up. 'We would like to see slightly warmer temperatures, but the temperatures are not cold enough to damage fruit, just to slow things down,' said the company's Ian Waller.

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