Two months of persistent rain in Huelva is not looking promising for the strawberries in the province. Rain has already delayed the start of the harvest by twenty days and as a result, the crops could be hit by disease.
A common enemy of the strawberry is botrytis and high humidity makes the plants particularly vulnerable. There are products to combat botrytis but their effect is limited in rainy conditions.
It is now a waiting game to see what the losses in the sector will be. The current price of strawberries is around €2 per kilo, which is not bad for the farmers, but further delays and potential disease could cause problems, especially as strawberries from other countries begin to come in.