The 2005-06 season has closed leaving growers in the Spanish production region of Almeria licking their wounds as production rose and prices fell.
“This past season illustrates that increases in production are not absorbed by demand, not even if prices are dropped,” a spokesman for producers’ association Coexphal-Faeca said.
He said that exports were more or less in line with production, but overall output rose 10 per cent while returns fell 12 per cent.
The biggest problem has been for capsicum. While production in Almeria rose this year compared to the frost-blighted campaign of 2004-05, sendings from Israel into the EU at very competitive prices also rose. Volumes produced in Almeria rose 14 per cent while returns slumped by 23 per cent. The largest rises in production came in November, February and March.
A report released by the research and statistics service at Coexphal-Faeca also showed that the melon season has been extremely disappointing with excellent eating quality this year, but a lack of demand. Even though melon production declined by four cent, values have shrunk by a significant 16 per cent.
Meanwhile, the situation for tomatoes was little better as production rose 14 per cent, returns fell by 12 per cent. The only highlight was cucumber and although output rose by 12 per cent, returns rose by 14 per cent.
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