Crop year 2021/2022 in mainland Portugal was meteorologically characterized as extremely hot (the hottest since 1931/32) and very dry. The meteorological drought of 2022 was one of the most severe since systematic records exist, with almost the entire territory in severe and extreme drought in the months of February, May, June, July and August.
The 2022 winter cereal campaign was the worst ever, having even been lower than in 2012, matching the worst cereal harvests with the most severe droughts.
The decrease in apple production was 20.9% compared to last year (which was the second most productive harvest in the last 35 years). The pear harvest ended with a 41.3% reduction in production compared to the previous campaign, due to adverse weather conditions and brown spot disease.
In Cova da Beira, the cherry drop was lower than expected and the harvest took place in good conditions, which contributed to a production slightly higher than that achieved in the previous campaign (+3.1%), being the most productive ever. In orange, the increase in production, both in early and late varieties, contributed to the best campaign ever, 4.0% above the production recorded in 2021.
In Portugal, 10 439 rural fires broke out in 2022, 26.8% more occurrences than in 2021. The number of ignitions, although higher than the last two years and the average of the last five-year period, was about half the average number of fires recorded in the last 20 years
The commercial deficit of agricultural and food products (excluding beverages and fishery products) reached EUR 5,222.8 million in 2022, which represents an increase of EUR 1,374.5 million compared to the previous year.
in 2022, the deficit at the level of self sufficiency of meat worse, but Portugal maintained a self sufficiency surplus in milk for public consumption, wine, olive oil and rice.
Sharp increases in price indexes of agricultural goods output (+20.5%), goods and services currently consumed in agriculture (+30.0%) and of goods and services contributing to agricultural investment (+10.7%) were recorded.
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