One of the hardest hit crops was citrus where hail has not only damaged production ahead of the 2002-03 season, but caused defoliation and damage to the trees themselves. 'The repercussions will translate to a decline in production over the next few seasons and economic losses to the tune of euro33 million,' said an Ava-Asaja spokeswoman.

For other fruit trees – including peach and nectarine – losses are estimated to top euro8 million. And losses in the production of persimmon, due to be harvested in the autumn, are close to 100 per cent.

Some salad, vegetable and melon crops have been affected and damage also runs at almost 100 per cent in fields where the hail fell. Marrow, watermelon, tomato, green bean and pepper production in the Valencia area have all suffered.

This hail damage of August 8 comes hard on the heels of hailstorms affecting more localised areas of the Valencia region on July 31. During that storm, entire stone fruit crops were lost from the trees as well as persimmon, salads, table grapes and citrus.

Young plantings, particularly of citrus trees were severely damaged by the weight of rainfall, the gale-force winds and the hail itself. 'The effects will be felt for several years,' explained the spokeswoman. 'And there will now be increased plant-health costs as growers seek to treat their trees to try and help them recover and re-enter production.' In some cases, the defoliation and damage to tree wood means that some growers have already pulled up citrus trees, often of newer varieties, that were just entering into peak production.

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