Cold Snap Delays Strawberry Harvest and Moroccan Workers’ Arrival in Spain

"The first strawberries could not reach the markets coinciding with the feast of the Immaculate Conception" this year, Manuel Piedra, secretary general of UPA Huelva, told EFE. Despite this situation due to the cold, the farmers remain optimistic about the smooth running of the campaign. "Everything will depend on the weather... There need to be temperatures that encourage consumption, that invite people to go out and buy," he explains.

To read: Moroccan Strawberry Pickers Protest Travel Ban, Demand Access to Spanish Farms

For this campaign, Huelva is awaiting nearly 12,000 Moroccan seasonal workers, including about 10,000 who have already participated in other campaigns, to which are added the 2,000 retained in 2019 but who no longer arrived due to the health crisis. The first wave of seasonal workers should arrive by the end of December. This deadline can however be "a little delayed due to the lack of production", as was the case last year.

To read: Moroccan Seasonal Workers in Spain Drop 9% Amid COVID Restrictions

The seasonal workers should not have any problem crossing the border, because "it is closed on the Moroccan side, but not on the Spanish side. They will only have to comply with the health protocol imposed by the Spanish government." This year, the Moroccans will be supported for the first time by seasonal workers from Ecuador and Honduras as part of a pilot experiment carried out on the basis of agreements signed by the Spanish government with the two countries.