Portugal could join the group of global almond producers within four to five years if campaigns remain as good as this year’s. The harvest is expected to reach 20,000 tons of almond kernels in 2023, which represents an increase of about 20% compared to the product obtained last year, estimates the Executive Director of Portugal Nuts – Associação de Promoção de Frutos Secos, in statements to DN/ Dinheiro Vivo.
António Saraiva says that the almond trees planted in the EDIA – Alqueva Development and Infrastructure Company area alone will contribute about eight thousand tons of almond kernels to the total national harvest. “The average age of the trees there is four years. So they are new. Because an almond tree comes into production in the third year, the fourth year is still growth – and they continue until they are mature -. There is great potential here to help us grow,” says the director.
With the growing capacity of almond trees in that area and with the rest of the national almond plantations in full production – with some exceptions for the area of the Algarve, where the trees are older – there are enough almonds for national consumption and also for export . .
“The quantities we produce are able to meet national demand. The growth of the sector has been extraordinary and we are increasing our export capacity,” says António Saraiva. Although he knows that sales are always difficult and that this will be a challenge for the sector in the future, the person in charge of Portugal Nuts also explains that the country has the advantage of being alongside the largest importers and exporters of almonds in Spain.
“We have the advantage of having entrepreneurs here in Portugal who are Spanish. And they already produce almonds here because the conditions we have are better than what they find in their country,” he says. And he explains that several entrepreneurs from the neighboring country come to Portugal to buy almonds because they are very close to their processing units and have access to varieties they are used to in Spain.
Although we still have little weight on the world market, which is led by the United States with 78% of production, José Saraiva believes that national almonds will be able to reach the top four, right after Spain, which occupies third place. “Last year we had 1% of world production, we still do not appear in the average of the last five years, because we do not have a great track record, but we are going to consolidate this position,” assured the person in charge, pointing out that our country already has areas with orchards that produce more efficiently. “We are already using the latest technology,” he said.
Water is needed
But to grow almonds – or any other crop – you need water. And José Saraiva believes that the strategic importance of this sector in Portugal has not yet been understood. “These are crops with value, with potential on the land and the investment has been made. A lot of money has been invested in them, with industry coming to settle here, creating jobs,” he declares, asking for support and conditions. for producers. “A crucial point is the availability of irrigation water,” he emphasizes.
The person in charge emphasizes that the problem now is not the availability of land, but the availability of water and calls for increased allocations for almond trees, especially in the EDIA intervention area in Alentejo. “What we demand from EDIA is whether in the future we will have the same right to water as other cultures.” This is because, as he states, allocations for almond plantations are not in balance with what has been done for other crops.
“It’s not even close to the optimum of what the crop needs, while all other crops have had a contribution that allows them to produce at a higher level than the average of the more developed countries.” And despite recognizing that in the case of almonds, even though an increase in allocation was made because it was a dry year – an increase made for all crops – he believes that this was insufficient in ratio to the actual need for water.
Call for guardianship
On the other hand, José Saraiva also calls on the Ministry of Agriculture to accelerate the authorizations for the use of new synthetic or biological crop protection products that help combat pests and/or diseases. “If there are no such interferences, if water is not a limitation and if we manage to solve this problem that we are facing now, I think the conditions are there for us to make progress.”
And do not forget that many of the almond producers are young farmers who decided to devote their lives to this crop, which covers about 15,000 hectares in our country.
Mónica Costa is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
