The sector of strawberry and red fruits from the province of Huelva It has overcome a complicated campaign marked by the consequences derived from the COVID-19 pandemic and has done so with a decrease in the production of strawberries of around 20%.

The health crisis has caused, among other collateral effects, that production is reduced this year by around 20% compared to the previous one, so the total volume has been around 250.000 tons of strawberries, as collected by the Data of Freshuelva, the sectoral association of producers and marketers of Huelva strawberries.

The strawberry situation contrasts with the campaign of the raspberry and blueberry, less affected by the restrictions of the pandemic thanks to the fact that its commercialization is very focused on a large distribution that has continued to operate without problems in recent months. Strawberries, on the other hand, were greatly affected by the decline in national consumption as a result of the closure of the markets and the Horeca channel.

The incidence of the pandemic has been reflected in a decline in exports, that, in the case of strawberries, it was 3,3% compared to the previous season. More drastic has been the decrease of 21% in raspberry exports (due to lower production during the first quarter of the year), while in blueberry it has been 2,1% less than in the year 2019. The decrease in the area planted with blackberry this season has been added to the fact that exports of this fruit have fallen by 43,7%.

However, the turnover of this campaign has been very similar to that of the last campaign, with a decrease of only 0,6%, due to the fact that the increase in the turnover of blueberries by 14,3% has contrasted with the decrease of 3,7% of strawberries, of 6,63% of raspberries and 40,7% of the arrears.

Regarding the fate of Huelva berries, Germany is consolidated as the main consumer of red fruits, being the destination of 36% of the exported strawberries, 35,3% of raspberries, 39,4% of blueberries and 33,8% of Huelva blackberries. In the same sense, France is the protagonist of one of the sharpest decreases in berry exports, with a decrease of almost 12%. The United Kingdom is at the same level as the French in the purchase of strawberries, both concentrating 13,6% of exports of this product.

28% is the decline in raspberry exports to the French country, which is now only the destination of 9,8% of them, surpassed by 28,7% in the United Kingdom and even 10,3% from the Netherlands.

UK and the Netherlands They are, after Germany, the main destinations for Huelva blueberries, concentrating 20,5% and 15% of exports, respectively; while the United Kingdom and Italy accompany Germany as the main consumers of blackberries produced in the province of Huelva.

Strawberry fields in Huelva. / DIARY OF ALMERÍA

Freshuelva has already alerted the regional, national and European authorities to which it has addressed the results of this campaign, and has done so again at the end of July, with the intention that operational programs be made more flexible, so that do not further mortgage the future of Huelva berry producers. So far, only silence has been obtained by answer.

The fact is that there have been many obstacles that the Huelva berry producers have had to face throughout the entire season and that they have managed to overcome by also adapting supply to demand in different circumstances.

The first impact on the sector, as soon as the alarm status, It was produced by the lack of manpower that supposed the closing of the borders of Morocco - this year only 7.200 arrived of the approximately 19.000 temporary workers of this country that would have come under normal conditions - and also the internal borders of Europe, preventing the arrival of hundreds of Bulgarian and Romanian workers who usually participate in the campaign to collect berries.

To this were added the limitations in the transport of people, which was a very serious problem during the first weeks. It was also a challenge for the sector to obtain sufficient protection material for the 70.000 people who have worked in it, as well as to enable, thanks to the collaboration of the Spanish and Moroccan authorities and the Port Authority of Huelva, the humanitarian return to their homes Moroccan women workers affected by the closure of the borders of the Alawite country.