Sharp fall in Spanish citrus output in 2017-18 ­

Preliminary data for estimations of Spanish fruit and vegetable production in the first five months of 2018 show extra-early potato volumes are up 4.3%, while tomato volumes are down 6.2% compared to 2017. As for other vegetables, increased volumes have been recorded of cucumber (+20.3%), leek (+17.5%) and broccoli (+10.8%). In contrast, lower output has been registered for green peas (-17.3%), green beans (-7.8%), artichoke (-2.8%) and celery (-1.8%). The first production estimates for fruit over the same period show increases in peach (+7.1%), cherry (+4.5%) and apricot (+3.8%), with a fall recorded in plum (-11.4%). Final estimates for avocado production in 2017 indicate a 10.2% rise compared to 2016.

Source: Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries

As for citrus production, estimates for the 2017-18 campaign indicate a decline in all crops,
except in grapefruit, which increased by 8.2% The biggest drop was recorded in satsuma (-26.9%), followed by clementine (-17.6%), orange (-8.7%) and lemon (-6.1%). Production of the mandarins group as a whole fell 14.8%.