A year to forget. This is how 2022 unfolded for agriculture in Alicante. The campaign proved to be the worst in memory, with losses exceeding 200 million euros. Unfair conditions affected many crops, and meteorological setbacks linked to climate change, rising costs, and competition from third countries pushed the industry toward the brink. Farmers faced an uncertain future, with cries for better prices that would deliver even a slim margin of profitability. Some began considering new fruit and vegetable varieties better suited to increasingly extreme weather conditions.
Citrus crops bore the heaviest losses, especially in Vega Baja where they are among the most common. The early phase of the campaign was hit by imports from South Africa, which saturated markets and depressed local citrus buying, contributing to more than 100 million euros in losses. The situation worsened as the season progressed, exposing the sector to a brutal price collapse.
Then the second phase arrived amid hopes of recovery, only to be derailed by the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Exports to Eastern markets stalled, and suppliers such as Turkey, Egypt, Israel, and Morocco redirected shipments to other parts of Europe. As a consequence, around 70% of oranges and 20% of Alicante tangerines in this second cycle remained unharvested due to marketing barriers, causing an additional 40 million euros in losses.
Olive cultivation also suffered greatly. A combination of adverse weather in the first half of the year reduced production in Alicante by an estimated 68%. Spring rains and humidity, especially in April, followed by hot May days, caused heavy defoliation and fungal issues on trees, while frost, cold spells, and persistent rains during flowering further harmed the harvest. The total damage from olives was estimated at about 22 million euros.
Cherries, a crop repeatedly hit by disaster campaigns, fared poorly in Marina Alta, El Comtat, l’Alcoià and Alto Vinalopó. The main foe was rain, which plagued the cycle from flowering through harvest. Twenty consecutive days of rain during flowering hindered bee activity and damaged blooms. Additional rain and hail in the following week further reduced yields. Revenues dropped by roughly seven million euros.
Peaches, apricots, and plums, along with loquat in Marina Baixa, were also injured by rain, contributing about 11 million euros in losses. Winter vegetables faced price drops amid inflation, as costs for fertilizer, plant protection products, and energy rose sharply, threatening margins across the sector.
Yet the losses did not end there. Crops just beginning to harvest faced negative campaigns as well. Almond growers, represented by Juan Pastor of Unió, reported that high temperatures intensified the tiger moth outbreak. Drought conditions and the Xylella bacteria ravaging El Comtat, l’Alcoià, and Marina Alta reduced expected harvests by about 40%, driving seven million euros in losses. A spokesperson for Asaja Alicante highlighted that the fig harvest would be halved due to fruit not reaching the right caliber, emphasizing that much of the production was not saleable. Cereals and sunflowers faced 4 million euros in losses from extreme heat across the province.
Pedro Valero, Asaja’s spokesperson in Camp d’Elx, warned that the fig crop would be significantly diminished because quality standards were not met, and again stressed the broader impact on cereals and sunflowers due to record heat.
The most painful campaign
This string of misfortunes has stretched the resilience of the agricultural sector. José Vicente Andreu, president of Asaja Alicante, called for policies that ensure affordable prices and fair compensation within the food chain law, urging the European Union to apply the same conditions to imported products from Morocco, South Africa, and Turkey as those on Community soil. He argued that environmental requirements and the use of certain products should not create a price disadvantage for local farmers who compete with cheaper imports, highlighting concerns about market fairness and international competition.
Similarly, Carles Peris, general secretary of La Unió, noted a pervasive sense of discouragement among farmers. He stressed the urgency of securing fair prices and improving access to markets, while acknowledging the challenge of developing varieties more resistant to climate change, a task made difficult by its inherent complexity.
A future threatened by water transfers
The region’s prospects were further clouded by interruptions in the Tajo-Segura water transfer, amplifying uncertainty for the sector. Irrigation water prices rose sharply in tandem with soaring energy costs, compounding financial pressure on growers in the province. And as prices for water per cubic meter climbed from 40–60 cents to levels above those of the previous year, profitability was pushed toward the breaking point, with warnings that some farmers might reduce or halt irrigation altogether.
Andreu asserted that the government relied on demagoguery influenced by ecological ideologies while large energy suppliers drained reservoirs to boost profits, while agriculture was blamed for water scarcity. He warned that transport disruptions would hit southern fields hard and argued that desalinated water should not be treated as a universal substitute. Luis Gómez, chief executive of La Redonda de los Huertos in Orihuela, echoed the sentiment that desalination could serve as a temporary emergency measure but not a long-term replacement. He cautioned that the country could not compete with foreign products from Algeria, Morocco, or South Africa while facing higher costs domestically.
Andreu also warned that water prices would remain elevated due to higher energy costs, noting that farmers faced prices of 40 to 60 cents per cubic meter—double what they paid the previous year. Such increases threatened profitability and risked forcing more growers to limit or abandon irrigation altogether.
In this tense climate, farmers in Alicante faced a mounting sense of urgency: to protect livelihoods, secure fair prices, and explore practical, sustainable responses to climate volatility, market pressures, and resource constraints. The path forward demanded not only resilience but also coordinated policy support, smarter crop choices, and innovative water management that can sustain production without sacrificing ecological and economic balance. The voices of growers and associations call for concrete steps that balance fair compensation with realistic measures to secure the province’s agricultural future, today and tomorrow. Attribution: Asaja Alicante, La Unió, and local growers.