In Spain, avocado has ceased to be an exotic food to become the new king of the shopping basket. Its demand grows without stopping: only in 2023, tropical fruits became the most consumed in the country, surpassing even the citrus of life. But while the surface dedicated to avocado cultivation in Spain is already 24,000 hectares –With Andalusia at the head-, the south begins to resent. Missing water. There are plenty of extreme temperatures. And the producers look for alternatives in the north and there Galicia enters.
A new tropical map. The image of an avocado is not associated, precisely, the wet green of the peninsular northwest. But data and real experiences begin to tell another story. Because in Galicia the avocado not only grows: it is standing strongly.
As he collects A report from the voice of Galiciain the province of Pontevedra there were already at least seven hectares cultivated in 2022, and everything indicates that this figure has been doubled since then. “It is a very interesting production that is already being introduced into many Galician cooperatives,” says Higinio Mougán, director of Agaca, the Galician Association of Agrifood Cooperatives.
Attracted by high market prices – and for a demand that does not stop growing – Galician farmers such as those of the Horsal Cooperative are already betting on this crop. However, they do it cautiously since not everything is as easy as planting and waiting to collect.
But is it land of avocados? In theory, yes. Galicia presents a soft climate, without prolonged frost and with generous rainfall. Characteristics that, like The CSIC Iñaki Hormaza researcher ensures For the Galician medium, “they look more like the climate originally from avocado than that of some areas of Andalusia.” Which does not mean that there are no risks.
Temperatures of more than 35º in summer, strong coastal winds, floodable floors or the possibility of unexpected frosts remain limiting factors. “It is not a crop to launch without prior study,” says Pablo Porto, coach of Vivaz Plant, a company that has developed plantations at Baixo Miño. The terrain must have good drainage, be protected from the wind and have deep and aerated soils. And that without talking about the productivity challenges – less than 1% of the flowers bear fruit – or post -harvest, which alerts the damage for forced collection on temporary days.
There is evidence that it works. 300 kilometers east, in Asturias, The story of Ángel Sordo and his centenary avocado In Porrúa it is almost legend. Planted in 1906, this tree is still standing more than a century later and is considered the oldest in Europe. “Its cup reaches 30 meters in diameter,” a living emblem of what could be a new agricultural border.
Inspired by this legacy, entrepreneurs such as Andrés Ibarra founded Aguacastur to explore the potential of avocado in the Cantabrian. His discovery was revealing: thousands of scattered trees, some with up to four flowers per year. And no, the cold did not kill them. Thanks to environmental humidity, even -5º temperatures did not cause severe damage.
“It is a matter of time that the cultivation of avocados in the north becomes a reality,” said Ibarra. A change that accelerates as the South loses viability.
A northern axarchy. As my partner explainedthe comparison is not accidental. The Malaga Axarchy has been the avocado mecca in Spain for decades. But droughts, overexploitation of the vineyuela aquifer and heat waves are changing the script. Is the north – with its water, its temperate climate and its lower urban pressure – the future of tropical fruit in Spain?
It would not be the first time. Galicia was the land of Olivos in the past and nobody knows well why it ceased to be.
And now, what? The interest is there. Plantations grow. Cooperatives are organized. But the Galician avocado path – like that of every crop that ventures in new lands – will not be free of obstacles. Green gold has arrived in Galicia. And this time, it seems that it has come to stay.
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