Sour outlook for local fruit after rain and high temperatures arrived at wrong time for cherries and nisperos

NINETY PER CENT of Alicante Province’s cherry crop has been lost, the Asaja agricultural growers’ union announced.
The absence of casual labour, transport difficulties when lockdown was at its strictest and bad weather have ruined this year’s harvest, the union said.
Cherries, together with nisperos – which have also suffered this year – are two of the province’s principal stone-fruit crops and an important source of income for inland towns and villages.
Growers producing the denomination-protected Montaña de Alicante cherries said they have never seen anything like this year’s campaign, which was the worst they can remember after rain throughout April rotted the blossom.
The Marina Baja’s nispero crop was affected by four or five days in early May when temperatures reached 30 degrees.
With insufficient time to bring in the over-ripe fruit, the Marina Baja produced a total of 10,000 tons instead of the expected 13,000.
Lorries taking nisperos to Italy, their principal importer, had to return empty, which raised transport costs, while the open-air markets, the usual outlet for less-than-perfect fruit, only recently reopened.