According to Joan Mateu, an experienced potato exporter from Sa Pobla, the following two factors are “big questions” at the moment:
The potato producers Sa Pobla and the entire region of the Raiguer are very aware these days of the weather, mainly low temperatures and consequently frost, which always adversely affect the crop. They are also waiting to see how the season will develop economically, which will be marked by two very powerful external factors and unknown until now: the COVID-19 crisis and ‘Brexit’.
Regarding adverse weather conditions, this week the thermometers reached a minimum of one degree in sa Pobla and 2.5 in Llubí, which has caused severe frosts in the area. This has always been one of the ‘crusades’ of potato growers.
The businessman Joan Mateu explains that “the peasants have techniques and equipment to fight against frost”. To protect the plantations from the low temperatures, “they start up the sprinkler irrigation system.
The spray forms a layer (a kind of film) on top of the leaves that prevents them from burning due to low temperatures, ”he explains. Although now most farms already have it automated, there are many farmers who still spend their nights in suspense checking that the frost does not burn the plants.
For the moment, “the frosts have not caused significant damage ,” explains Mateu, although after this sequence of rainy days, if the forecasts are met, the sun will shine from Tuesday but temperatures will continue to be very low. “It will be when we will have to be more aware of possible frosts and whether it is necessary to activate the irrigation mechanisms”, explains Joan Mateu.
n as to how to face the season with the uncertainty marked by COVID-19 and Brexit, Mateu is “on the lookout”, although he emphasizes that “in the potato sector we are very fighters and we will continue working to get ahead.” As for how it will affect the economic crisis arising from the health “is the most uncertain” he maintains.
“Regarding Brexit, we celebrate that there is finally an agreement with England, since we feel at home there and we were almost resigned to not being able to export,” says the manager of Mateu Export. And there was a lot of concern about the conditions that the United Kingdom would impose in terms of food exports.
Joan Mateu explains that since 1924 sa Pobla has been selling potatoes in the United Kingdom. Last year, of the 8,000 tons of this product that Spain sold to England, 85%, that is, 7,000 tons, had been grown in sa Pobla. “It is therefore one of the main markets for farmers in this town which, in addition, they also distribute in other countries”, recalls Mateu.
