In W29 in the strawberry landscape, the 2022/23 strawberry Huelva, Spain, campaign concluded with a total production of 243.31 tons, representing a 10% decrease compared to the previous season. The strawberry campaign faced challenges due to weather fluctuations, including excessive heat during planting, high cold at the beginning of 2023, and heat in April. These impacted fruit quality and led to a slight price increase, but resulted in a significant decrease in crop profitability.
Between Jan-23 and May-23, Poland imported 23.8 thousand tons of fresh strawberries, an increase of almost 1.5 thousand tons compared to the previous year, and accounts for over 90% of the total annual strawberry imports. Greece remains the largest supplier of imported strawberries to Poland. In addition, Poland is taking measures to include frozen strawberries and raspberries in restrictive measures on imports into the European Union (EU) due to a significant increase in imports from Ukraine. The import surge is causing difficulties for Polish strawberry producers and disrupting the local market. Furthermore, as the Polish strawberry season ends, experts predict an increase in prices. Strawberries stood at USD 1.50-2.50/kg (PLN 6-10/kg), but it is forecasted to increase to USD 4.51-5.01/kg (PLN 18-20/kg).
Lastly, the Maule Regional Governor of Chile visited the communes of Chanco and Pelluhue to deliver INDAP-GORE incentives to 268 small strawberry producers. These incentives aim to support farmers facing challenges such as high fertilizer and agricultural input prices, market issues, and crop phytosanitary problems, particularly caused by the strawberry nematode.