The strawberry season in Spain has this year started about two weeks later than in 2009 as a result of the bad weather throughout the country up until the middle of January. Arnold Heemskerk of Frutas Esther says that the many overcast days with rain slowed down the development of the strawberries. "There was insufficient sunshine and the temperatures were low, delaying everything."
"The quality of our strawberries is very good especially when taking the climatological circumstances at the beginning of the season into consideration " Arnold explains. He says that bad weather caused a higher percentage Class II: more white shoulders, somewhat smaller strawberries on average resulting in fewer kilos. "Our cultivation system, mainly substratum, produces more Class I, the fruit also tastes better and is more durable, but nevertheless we also experienced more problems than in previous years."
The majority of Frutas Esther grown strawberries are of the Candonga variety. "This season we will harvest, however, a significant quantity of Primoris," Arnold says. This is a new variety from the FNM program. "We think, that the Primoris will be a worthwhile addition to the Candonga."
The market this year was difficult from the start, according to the exporter. "The prices at the beginning of the season were lower than in 2009 and this is mainly caused by the supply from North Africa, at the start mainly from Egypt and now from Morocco."
