The cold snap in April has badly affected cherry producers in north eastern Portugal who warn production will be down by around 40%. The ‘good news’ however is that the cherries that make it will be ‘quality’, a source for the Agricultural Cooperative of Alfândega da Fé has stressed. Not so for almonds. Armando Pacheco, president of the LCN cooperative, which covers producers in the north and centre, told Lusa he expects 50% falls in production. The cold in April came when almond trees were in a phase of transition from flowering to fruiting, thus the buds were ‘burnt’ and unable to develop. “The cold that led to the drop in production of almonds, which happened in just a few days, will be reflected in the coming years”, he warned.
