The drought in Spain is already making itself felt in Switzerland

Spain is in danger of becoming a desert. Even before summer, the Iberian Peninsula is groaning under a heat wave. In the south of the country there are already temperatures known only in summer: 35 degrees in Córdoba, 36 degrees in Seville and 27 degrees in Almeria – the region known as the fruit and vegetable garden of Europe.

The desert province has greenhouses the size of 43,000 football fields and produces millions of tons of fruits and vegetables, mainly tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, avocados and strawberries. All of Europe benefits from the white plastic desert and the Spaniards also benefit from the “mar del plástico” (plastic sea) – the world’s largest area under plastic.

The driest region in Europe will generate almost 4 million euros in exports in 2022. But for how long?

Water resources are overfished by monocultures that require a lot of water. Farmers in the region have been sounding the alarm for years. The feared crop failures have now become reality: Spanish tomato, cucumber and eggplant production has collapsed by 25 percent in a month. The berry season has only just started and part of the harvest has already had to be destroyed. The reason: due to the drought, the fruit does not meet the requirements of the food companies.

The country is still looking for solutions, but the idea of ​​fruits and vegetables that need a lot of water, such as avocados or mangoes, is very controversial. After all, both types of fruit sell well abroad.

Among the most exported products are citrus – with oranges leading the way, followed by greenhouse vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, as well as outdoor cultivation of lettuce and melons.

Spain is by far the most important exporter of fruit and vegetables in Europe – also ahead of Switzerland. In 2022, about 400,000 tons of vegetables and almost 600,000 tons of fruit were imported. “The regions of Almeria, Valencia, Murcia and Huelva are important in Spain. Depending on the situation, berries, citrus fruits, tomatoes and melons come from there,” says Coop when asked by Watson. Other important exporters are Italy, France and the Netherlands.

Coop is not yet feeling the effects. Competitor Migros is also green: “Due to the drought, we feel a certain tension on the market and we keep an eye on the situation.” From about May, the largest buyer of local products will switch to Swiss fruit and vegetables. For popular vegetables such as melons, which are hardly grown in Switzerland, other sources of purchase are checked.

Only at Aldi does a “slight restriction” in connection with the weather become noticeable. “But since the Swiss season is currently starting, we can overcome the bottleneck with products from our local suppliers.” The discounter does not disclose which varieties are involved: “The restriction is spread over several vegetable products.”

However, not only Spanish fruit and vegetables are suffering from water shortages, but also the plantations of olives, maize, rice and sunflowers. Last year’s olive crop failures are currently having an impact on the wallet: “In the case of olive oil, prices had to be adjusted due to the poor harvest and scarce availability,” says Migros.

Unlike in Switzerland, some supermarkets in Great Britain introduced purchasing restrictions at the end of February due to supply shortages from Spain and Morocco. For a few weeks, fruits such as tomatoes, peppers or cucumbers could not be bought at will.

“We have no control over Spain’s climate,” said UK Agriculture and Environment Secretary Therese Coffey. The rain that Spain is currently craving is also uncontrollable. There is no improvement in sight: temperatures of up to 40 degrees are expected in Andalusia at the weekend.