The grain industry in the province of Alicante promised them happiness in a campaign where prices were generally rising. war conflict in Ukraine. However, adverse weather conditions put an end to any predictions. While products such as wheat and barley were most affected by the results of the severe heat of the last months, now sunflowers have increased their cultivation areas by 30%. drowned in high temperatures after a germination conditioned by the storms of the planting season. As a result, farmers will not be able to take advantage of the still high prices in the markets, although they have been on the decline since the start of the war.
Ukraine is considered the breadbasket of Europe, so the Russian occupation led to higher prices for grain in general and sunflowers in particular. In fact, at the outbreak of the conflict, prices for oil from this seed skyrocketed in supermarkets due to fear of shortages and psychosis among consumers hoarding what was on the shelves.
In this context, the rest of the production areas, including the province of Alicante, increase profits by taking advantage of higher market prices. Nothing could be further from the truth. The grain campaign has already turned disastrous due to the high temperatures recorded between May and June as the crops dried out prematurely before they finished the grain. The result was 44,000 tons less production and a loss of close to 12 million Euros.
And now it’s down to sunflowers. Plantations, primarily for planning reasons and in some cases, bearing in mind the fact that a greater economic return can be derived from them, increased by 30% in the province, up to about 600 hectares. So there were high hopes attached to this product. But it couldn’t be.
Production declined significantly as a result of various factors, without reaching grain levels. Gonzalo Cots, a producer from the El Comtat region, said that “heavy rains recorded at the right time prevented from planting and then the earth dried up because of the heat. Then when we were finally able to plant, a series of storms prevented germination, so we had to repeat the process.” As if that wasn’t enough, rising temperatures in July and August were in their favour. early ripening, which results in lower performance. Ricardo Ferri, from the l’Alcoià region and representative of Asaja, expresses himself in similar terms and this series contributes to disasters. a strong hail storm this contributed to reducing the harvest.
This is how it is will be around 600,000 kilos at the end of production, which will be released at prices even lower than last year’s and currently at 530 euros per tonne, still a high figure if not as much as the 630 originally stated in the conflict of war. “Considering the rapid increase in fertilizers and phytosanitary products, it will not pay off in the end,” Gonzalo Cots complains.
Damages caused by the reproduction of goats and sheep
As if the adverse weather conditions weren’t enough, the movement of animals is also damaging the sunflower crops. Ricardo Ferri, a producer from the l’Alcoià region, said: “The goats and mussels ate an entire hectare. The damage they do is huge.
Ferri points out that there has been an increasing problem in recent years due to the fact that such animals have multiplied without effective control measures until now.
Rabbits also cause harm, although it is more concentrated in cereal products.