“We found nothing. Is a reality. Productions have increased in other territories in the last ten years”, indicates the president of Coag, José Miguel Marín, referring to the relocation of crops by agricultural companies, generally large, that seek greater guarantees of water, Mainly in Almeria. A phenomenon that also occurs in Extremadura, Navarra and Castilla-La Mancha, where Murcian producers complement their marketing programs to meet the orders of the large national and foreign distribution chains throughout the year.
A practice that is common in other autonomous communities with fruit and vegetable potential. In this sense, mobility is the order of the day, although in the Region of Murcia there has been more movement in recent years.
It depends on the cycles of each product, adds Juan Marín, president of the Irrigation Community of Lorca. These transfers of crops ‘go by neighborhood’, however, and are generally based on renting and leasing farmland. There are companies that migrate to other areas, even within the Region of Murcia itself, and there are others that maintain their activity intact in their usual area.
production ups and downs
With lemon, the province of Almería is gradually gaining ground, especially in the fields bordering Murcia. In 2021 there were 1,100 hectares planted, and a decade later they have doubled, says the general director of Ailimpo, José Antonio García. Murcian producers invest in the neighboring province because there is less water supply problem, while they have more facilities to develop farms with larger areas, over 50 hectares. These are long-term investments because it takes years from planting to harvesting the first marketable products.
The Region maintains leadership in lemon production, with more than 28,000 hectares, but the increase in citrus area has slowed down and new plantations are moving to Almería. Although there has been a downturn in the last campaign, the lemon park is enough to return to normal production volumes, which reach 1.3 million tons. García hopes it will be in the next campaign.
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