"It was strange. We've now had three rainy days with temperatures around 8 degrees in a short period, something I had only experienced for two days in the 18 years I've been in Portugal," Wim de Weert recalls. The Dutch grower produces strawberries 10 kilometers north of Faro on more than 2 hectares and also markets strawberries from a fellow grower with another 1.5 hectares.

"We did have some damage. For example, about 10% of our older greenhouse was blown apart, so we immediately closed it off from the rest of the greenhouse," Wim says. "We therefore still have some repair work to do. For instance, there is also damage on the ground inside the greenhouses, which have been flooded. We are located just below the hills here, and springs suddenly appeared that we had never seen before."

"As a result, production is significantly behind schedule. The plants should be in full bloom now, but flowering is seriously delayed. We do not have heating in the greenhouses. In terms of kilos, we are therefore considerably behind. The only advantage is that the strawberries we delivered fetched good prices," says Wim, who mainly supplies his strawberries to the Netherlands and France. "In recent weeks, the strawberries have mainly gone to Perpignan. Shipments to the Netherlands are still in transit for about two and a half days, while shipments to Perpignan take less than a day. That makes a difference when you are dealing with a sensitive product."

"The high prices compensate for a lot. All winter, strawberry prices have been above 10 euros per kilo, and today the price dropped to 8-9 euros for the first time. That partly offsets the lower yields. I prefer to sell slightly fewer kilos at a higher price," Wim says. How long he continues the season depends mainly on the prices he can obtain on the French and Dutch export markets. "Sometimes I have continued until 15 May, but other years it has ended around 1 May," he says.

Currently, Wim is harvesting the Gariguette strawberry, while the colleague whose strawberries he markets is now fully in production with Sonsation. "The season has slowed down quite a bit. Normally, the harvest would already be finished, but now we will continue for another 12 days," says the grower. Meanwhile, the weather has stabilized again. "Over the past few days, it has been quite cool here at around 13-14 degrees, but when the sun appears, it immediately climbs above 20 degrees."

"The Spanish greenhouses in Huelva have suffered enormous damage. Those plastic tunnels are basically just hoops, and they could not withstand the severe weather. Our own greenhouses are 9.60 meters wide and covered with double plastic. By Portuguese standards, that is top-level," Wim says. A new development is that he is also growing everbearing varieties. "Our aim is to start in November and then harvest throughout the winter. That offers many advantages, both in terms of labor and marketing."

Source - https://www.hortidaily.com/