THE Balearic Agricultural Association and the Farmers Union warned yesterday that 30 percent of the 5'000 tonnes of potatoes which should have been harvested on Majorca are now a write-off because of the heavy rains that have been falling in the region over the past month.
Association president, Biel Company, said that such a rainy autumn has not been on record for 30 years. It is however, at just this time of year, when this single most important crop to the Balearic Islands is harvested along with fruit and green vegetables which this year have been left to rot in the fields. The intense rainfall over the past few days have caused a disaster, said Company at a press briefing in Palma. He added that if the adverse weather conditions don't alter radically, we could be looking at the loss of 5'000 tonnes of potatoes. He further warned that agricultural workers are not going to stand around with their arms crossed. He said that if there is no income from the harvests, they will seek help from the government. Seventy percent of potatoes for export were sown a month ago but Company said they can't grow normally because there's so much rainfall.