Storm Ciril buried hopes of correcting a bad year that thousands of farmers were having after the rains in March. The arctic cold wave that followed the rainy season wiped out half of the stone fruit harvest overnight and doomed 70 to 80 percent of almond and cherry production in the province. This was stated by Antonio Gascón, in charge of Agricultural Insurance at ASAJA Alicante, who calculated that the death toll was caused by the early frost on Sunday, April 3, in the first estimate. More than 22 million euros lost for agriculture in Alicante. “It is unfortunate that many farmers do not have contractual insurance,” says the organization’s technician.
According to the records of the province’s climate observatories, the temperature reached negative values in the early hours of 2-3 April, reaching -2.7 degrees in Villena and exceeding -4 for many hours in other interiors. Large plantations were damaged by frost in the regions of Alto Vinalopó, L’Alcoià, El Comtat and at some points in Marina Alta.
The most affected crops were stone fruit trees (peach, cherry, apricot and to a lesser extent plum) and almond trees.
70% cherry
The cherry tree was already badly affected by the rains, which spoiled the bloom. According to ASAJA, there are many parcels with damage close to 100% of production, considering the total cultivated area in these regions is 1,722 hectares and the estimated production is 5,650 tons. At the first estimate, Gascón calculates the average damage of close to 70%, which means about 4,000,000 kg of loss. “At an average price of 1.8 euros per kilo, the cold air mass would have caused losses of 7.2 million euros,” he continues.
Nearly 12 million losses in almond trees
In the case of almond trees, the affected cultivated area in these areas is about 9,000 hectares, of which about 80% was affected by the cold wave. “Given the estimated production of 7,000 tons, we can take into account losses of 5,600,000 kg. With an average price of 2.10 euros per shell in the field, we assume losses of 11.76 million,” says the ASAJA Alicante expert.
Ciril freezes semi-fruit harvest
In the case of apricots and peaches, about 415 hectares are planted in the frost affected area with an estimated production potential of 6,300 tonnes. According to Gascón, “estimated damage to these crops could be around 50%, which means a loss of 3,150,000 kg. Average prices in the field are around EUR 0.80 per kilo, so frost costs around EUR 2.52 million”.
Four days after the event, plums seem to be the least affected product. The cultivation area is 270 hectares producing about 5,000 tons. “The damage could be as much as 30 percent of production, which means a loss of 1,500,000 kg and an economic value of 750,000 euros, considering an average price in the area of 0.50 euros per kilo,” said the agriculture person. ASAJA Alicante’s insurance.
No damage on Vega Baja
On the other hand, the southern region of the province was not affected by the effects of the storm. The coastal location of the fertile plain, with a minimum of five degrees Celsius over the weekend, protected the citrus, fruit trees, almonds and vegetable harvests from a frost that seriously endangered all agricultural production in the peninsula interior and in continental Europe.
In this sense, José Vicente Andreu, president of ASAJA Alicante, defended the strategic position of this region. “Irrigation of Vega Baja is the safest area for food production. The arctic cold wave destroyed all fruit and almonds from Andalusia to the Alps, including the Mediterranean coast of France. It is something we have confirmed many times over that Europe’s vegetable garden is a guarantee of food security for the continent, and we all see it, except for the Spanish Government and Minister Ribera, who are unfortunately determined to break the Tajo-Segura transfer. It’s the way to increase ecological flows and limit agriculture forever in this area”, states Andreu.