Portalegre, Nov. 26, 2024 (Lusa) - This year's cork harvest in Portugal and Spain generated a production of 7.5 million arrobas (about 112,500 tonnes) - a figure that was "very close" to last year's total, the Interprofessional Association of the Cork Industry (Filcork) announced on Tuesday.
In a statement sent to the Lusa news agency, Filcork said that production is estimated at 4.5 million arrobas in Portugal and 3.0 million arrobas in Spain, totalling 7.5 million arrobas.
Consulted by Lusa, the Filcork document for the 2023 campaign showed that there was an estimate of production in the order of 5.0 million arrobas in Portugal and 2.5 million arrobas in Spain, also totalling 7.5 million.
With regard to this year's figures, the association also explains that, for "reasons of the market situation" some cork production has been "postponed" until 2025.
However, the association says that this year's campaign went "positively" in a "wide time window and without any phenomena that impacted" its normal course.
According to Filcork, the amount of cork available in the 2024 campaign "made it possible to ensure" stock levels in the industry for normal activity in the next industrial year.
"The 2024 campaign saw a reduction in the average price of around 15%, with a reduction in the price range between cork stoppers supported by the increase in the value of cork stoppers destined for crushing, due to the trend towards a change in the mix of cork stopper consumption in international markets," the document reads. "This price reduction follows the increase seen in 2023, returning the average price to values in line with the evolution curve of the novennium, which shows positive growth."
The association stresses that the cost of extraction in 2024 "maintained" the trend of recent campaigns, which have been impacted by inflation and an increase in average salaries.
In this year's harvest, according to Filcork, use of the extraction machine was "consolidated as a technology" that, despite the constant need for evolution, "will be increasingly crucial" in the future of the sector.
"The campaign takes place and ends in a business context characterised by a contraction in world wine consumption and a consequent reduction in the quantity and value of Portuguese exports in 2023 and the first half of 2024, fundamentally due to the current international situation," the group warns.
"There needs to be greater economic and social recognition of the environmental functions of cork oak forests, their important role in combating desertification and providing ecosystem services, and their positive impact on adaptation to climate change," it argues. "To this end, the effective remuneration of forestry production for all the services it provides to society should be fostered."
The association adds that "more than ever" there is a "duty to reinforce" the role of the cork industry due to its sustainability characteristics, as an example of a circular economic model, as well as being an "important" sector for Portugal's positioning in the world and of "added and differentiating value" for the country.
HYT/ARO // ARO.
Lusa
