The Protected Designation of Origin Peach from Calanda celebrates the closing of the 2024 campaign as the second most productive in its historical series since its inception a quarter of a century ago. With an approximate figure in the five million kilos collected within the PDOThis is also the best harvest in the last 15 years. In the short term, it represents a percentage close to 30% improvement with respect to the 3.3 million kilos harvested in 2023. However, this year’s campaign was affected by the drought and the hail.
This 2024 peach harvest of the PDO has been one of the most outstanding in its history, something that has been praised by the president of the PDO, Samuel Sancho, who has assured that it is an “extraordinary” campaign that has exceeded around a 20% more than a more normal one. “It is usually in the 4 million, more is already a good or extraordinary,” he pointed out.
Likewise, Sancho pointed out to Aragón Digital that these figures are even more valuable if we take into account that it was a season that started full of uncertainty in view of the water shortage in the Guadalope river basin. The president of the PDO certified that weather conditions have not been a handicap as they had been in the past. “There has been no frost or hail, which has permitted a high quality harvest and homogeneous. However, the lack of water affected us with the early varieties that are harvested in August,” said Sancho.
ENGINE OF THE LOCAL ECONOMY
The Calanda Peach PDO includes fifty peach growers localities of Southern Aragon and neighboring regions such as Bajo Aragón Caspe, Matarraña or Bajo Martín, among others, which makes this fruit a reference in the region. This peach, characterized by its flavor, texture and superior quality.r, is bagged and marketed under PDO certification, which guarantees its origin and authenticity. Although it represents only about 20% of total peach production in the area, its impact on the local economy is enormous, both in terms of employment and visibility in national and international markets.