Portugal: Dried fruit, nut growers use 30

Dried fruit and nut producers in Portugal have an "efficient" water management, spending "30 to 40% less" than their counterparts in the United States (US), a study by the Portugal Nuts association revealed on Tuesday.

"There is really a good efficiency in the use of water and this crop, besides being very well adapted to the climate and soil conditions that we have in the Alqueva region, has an efficient use of water," Tiago Costa, president of Portugal Nuts – Association for the Promotion of Dried Fruits, told Lusa news agency.

According to him, this is one of the conclusions of the study "Water requirements of dried fruit crops in the main production areas", presented this morning in Beja, at the 2nd Portugal Nuts Congress.

According to Tiago Costa, the study, developed in partnership with the Real Academia de Ingeneria de Madrid (Spain), shows that nuts and dried fruit are, in Portugal, "a very efficient crop and that, with the technology used, adds a lot of value to the use of a scarce resource", such as water.

"It is one of the crops that uses water in a very efficient way and that will allow us not only to be self-sufficient, but also to add value to the trade balance," he stressed.

The president of Portugal Nuts, an association that represents 50 producers and processors across the country, added that dried fruit production in Portugal consumes "30 to 40% less water" than in the US, a reference market in this sector.

This is due, on the one hand, to the use of drip irrigation systems on farms and, on the other, to the use of different varieties, "with different behaviour".

Furthermore, he added, in Alqueva, where there are around 25,000 hectares producing dry fruits, "there are also few losses [of water], because a large part of the system is under pressure, and there are no problems of evapotranspiration or losses".

"All this presupposes that we have fewer losses and that all the water we use is used in a much more efficient way", he stated.

For Tiago Costa, this reality makes the production of nuts and dried fruit in Portugal "more sustainable at all levels", simultaneously having a smaller carbon footprint when compared with other producing markets.

"In Europe, we have a deficit in all dried fruits, particularly almonds, most of which are imported from the USA or Australia. Basically, we are bringing a product with a very long carbon footprint for our consumption," he added.

The president of Portugal Nuts added that the country has, for all this, conditions to grow in this sector.

"We see here an opportunity of climate and soil, added to the availability of water, which gives us the possibility to be competitive and create this industry, to supply Europe with product [nuts] of European origin," he concluded.