Portugal produces 50,000 tons of chestnuts. Have you eaten like yours? – News from Coimbra
The production of nut, in the current campaign, should increase up to 20% to about 50,000 tons, with better quality fruit than last year, protection, above all, to exports, the RefCast association told Lusa.
“The expectation is that there will be more chestnuts than last year. We have to measure the equation according to weather conditions and the increase in the area of the grove. [Perspetivamos] 15% to 20% more than last year”, said the president of the Portuguese Chestnut Association (RefCast), José Gomes Laranjo, in a statement to the Lusa agency.
In 2020, Portugal had a production of chestnuts in the order of 42,000 tons, and it is expected, in this campaign, that the number rose to about 50,000 tons.
The chestnut campaign takes place between the end of September and November of November, it can be influenced by weather conditions.
This year, the campaign is delayed by about a week and a half, taken now that the peak of the harvest has been reached.
The delay is due to the updates registered this year, lower than in the previous year, and also to the humidity, which, in some regions, such as Vinhais, in the district of Bragança, boosted the development of septoria, which is caused by a fungus and which affects the quality of the fruit.
However, despite the occasional hypothesis, this year, the nut “itself with better quality”, pointed out RefCast.
As noted by the responsible for this association, in the last decade, a chestnut area in Portugal grew 53%, with an increase in the area of the chestnut tree year after year, factors that justify the expected increase in production.
José Gomes Laranjo explained that the increase in the chestnut area is related to the “interesting” profitability of the chestnut, but also to a renewal in the row, verifying that the children and grandchildren of the owners of the chestnut trees are available in this production.
“We are gradually seeing new blood come into the line, with all the advantages this can have. They are people more willing to embrace the modernization of the sector. This is very interesting”, he defended.
Faced with this pace of growth, Portugal is “walking seriously” to, in the short term, position itself as the European leader in the production of chestnuts, considered the president of RefCast, stressing that national exporters are “at the forefront of technological processes” for treatment of this fruit, in fresh or frozen mode.
Portugal does not have a surplus of chestnuts, not least because it is a “strong exporter”, with at least half of its production destined for the foreign market.
“The main destination market is Italy, a major world platform for the chestnut market. It is the largest importer and exporter of Brazil nuts. France is also a strong destination and then we have Brazil”, which has a “great tradition” of consuming this fruit at Christmas, he said.
For Brazil, a Portuguese chestnut goes, above all, fresh, while in Europe it is mainly destined for the processing industry.
According to RefCast, the sector is also working to consolidate these markets and enter new geographies, for example, in Northern Europe, being a regular presence in international promotion events, such as the Fruit Attraction fair, in Madrid, or Fruit Logistica , in Berlin.
On the domestic market, Brazil nuts do not assume the same weight as other fruits. It is seasonal and has a consumption peak, which runs in the first weeks of November, with festivities such as São Martinho.
“Today we arrive at the market and see the supply of Brazil nuts extending until February and March. A few years ago this was unthinkable”, added the president of Refcast, specifying that this is a reflection of the “updating power” of the sector, but also of the interest of the market.
However, there are some challenges, namely, adapting the offer to the demands of new audiences, especially the younger ones.
In this sense, highlighted José Gomes Laranjo, it is also necessary to bet on ready-to-eat products, which reach “urban publics, who have less and less time to cook”.
RefCast has around 110 members, including producers, associations and cooperatives, which cover the sectors of production, transformation and service provision, as well as municipalities and R&D (Research and Development) entities.