The chestnut campaign is delayed and “is still unknown” in Vinhais, in the district of Bragança, although the expectation is for a decrease in production in the municipality of Trás-os-Montes, which is one of the largest national producers of this dried fruit.
Arborea, the main organization of forestry producers in the region, takes stock of the situation, where, at this time of year, the harvest of some varieties should already be ending and harvesting should begin late.
Due to the drought, the development of the fruit is delayed and the sea urchins take time to open, which leads the president of Arborea, Abel Pereira, to foresee that the campaign, which takes three weeks to “It should last until December of this year, when it would normally end on November 20”.
The manager fears that there are century-old chestnut trees, in some areas, where the chestnut will not grow, due to the scarce development of the hedgehog and the consequent maintenance of high temperatures, and that the producers will have chestnuts with bugs and cracks, which the market does not accept.
The early September rains still give growers some hope, but at the moment the only certainty is that “The campaign is late and is still unknown”As indicated in.
In this sector, he said, contrary to the law of the market, less offer, that is, less cashew, is not synonymous with being better paid.
Abel Pereira gave the example of the hybrid chestnut that is falling (already ready to be harvested) and that has a lower price than last year.
The president of Arborea has indicated that the producer is being paid “around two euros per kilo”, while the normal at the moment is “around three euros”.
The municipality of Vinhais harvests about eight thousand tons of chestnuts and in a good year it invoices between 12 and 15 million euros, considering “a bad year” an annual turnover of less than 10 million euros.
In this canton there are two thousand producers with different realities, some earning 500 euros and others between 100 and 150 thousand euros per campaignHowever, chestnuts are the main source of income for this municipality of less than eight thousand inhabitants.
Between “50 and 60 thousand people” is the expected number of visitors to the Castanha de Vinhais fair, which has already become a point of attraction, only surpassed by the traditional smokehouse, and which this year takes place between the 28th and on October 30. .
Due to the delay of the chestnut, the fair, which was held annually in October, this year was postponed for the Santos weekend, according to the mayor, Luís Fernandes.
The municipality is the promoter of the event, in collaboration with the Arboreal Association, and states that “it is guaranteed” that there will be chestnuts at the fair.
The mayor hopes that it is still possible to minimize any breakage, but adds that it is still early to say “something about production”.
The fair appears this year with the novelty of the commitment to the name “Vinhais a Terra da Castanha Longal”, a process initiated by the municipality to value this native variety of the municipality.
As happened with the Fumeiro de Vinhais certification, the municipality hopes that this chestnut process will also result in added value for producers.
In the three days of the fair around nuts, the inauguration of the Minister of Agriculture and more than 100 exhibitors with chestnuts and other local products are expected.
The event is carried out with an investment of between “80 to 90 thousand euros”, according to the municipality that promises business, entertainment, permanent magusto in the “largest chestnut roaster in the world”, technical conferences, bullfights, among other activities.
Source: Observadora
