The planting stage of the recently completed 2016/2017 strawberry campaign revealed that the total area planted with berries in the province of Huelva has grown by 3.85% from the previous year's 9,658 hectares. This time, the acreage devoted to berries has reached a total of 10,030 hectares.

The Association of Producers and Exporters of Strawberries from Huelva, Freshuelva, has reported that, according to the data supplied by the associated companies, the area planted with strawberries for the next season has decreased again, this time by 7%, while the acreage devoted to raspberries, blueberries and blackberies has actually grown by 22%.

In this context, the area planted with strawberries has gone from 5,860 hectares in the previous campaign to 5,400 hectares in the current one. As for raspberries, there will be 1,932 hectares planted, compared to 1,815 last year, which entails an increase of 6.45%.

In the case of blueberries, the acreage will grow from 1,953 to 2,538 hectares, which means an increase of 30%, the highest recorded by any of the berries, as the area devoted to blackberries has grown by 23%, from 130 to 160 hectares. In the latter case, new extra-early varieties have been planted with the goal of extending the fruit's marketing season.

It will be the first time that blueberries have been the second most important berry in terms of acreage in the province of Huelva, although it must be taken into account that it is a plant that only becomes commercially productive from the third year after the planting.

After the planting stage was completed, there were rains that should have a beneficial effect on the development of strawberry plants in the province's different growing areas.

According to Freshuelva, these data show that the commitment to crop diversification, initiated in previous campaigns, has been consolidated, thus guaranteeing the presence Huelva's berries in the markets for almost nine months a year.