Since last May 29, hail storms have been felt repeatedly in much of the Spanish geography. Crop fields of up to 14 autonomous communities have suffered their violence, with a damaged area that, for the moment, reaches 135,000 hectares. Agroseguro estimates a compensation forecast for insured producers of over 30 million euros, of which almost 11 million correspond to hail damage to arable crops, especially winter cereals. The appraisal work began as soon as the first reports of loss were received and has intensified over the last few days in all the affected areas.
Castilla y León: damages exceeding 10.2 million euros
One of the main agricultural areas, Castilla y León, has borne the brunt of the storms, with damages exceeding 10.2 million euros in total. More than 57,000 insured hectares have suffered losses, especially in Burgos and Valladolid, although in the case of cereals there are crops affected in all provinces, reaching 53,000 hectares. In addition, it is important to highlight the damage to vineyards -especially those belonging to the Ribera del Duero DO-, with more than 3,000 hectares affected and an estimated indemnity of 5.5 million euros.
Aragón: indemnities amounting to 7 million euros
The estimate of indemnities for insured Aragonese producers reaches 7 million euros, after registering hail damage in about 30,000 hectares. In addition to arable crops (with more than 26,700 hectares damaged), the loss reports certify that there are also losses in wine grape, fruit (especially peach and apricot) and cherry production.
The most affected areas were the municipalities of Cuencas Mineras, Cuenca del Jiloca and Bajo Aragón, in Teruel; Ricla, Calatorao and Cariñena (La Almunia region), as well as Calatayud in Zaragoza; and the regions of Ribagorza and Sobrarbe, in Huesca.
Castilla-La Mancha: indemnifications for 5.1 million
More than 25,000 hectares of Castilla-La Mancha have also suffered the effects of hail, and as in the rest of the areas, most of them -about 20,000 hectares- correspond to arable crops, with special incidence in Cuenca, Guadalajara and the regions of Mancha and Manchuela in Albacete. In addition, the damage extends to many other crops: vineyards (especially in the Manchuela region of Cuenca), vegetables, fruit trees and nuts (almond trees). Estimated indemnities for insured producers in La Mancha amount to 5.1 million.
Region of Murcia: 5 million in indemnities
On the other hand, the recent hail storms left damage reports for more than 4,000 hectares of crops in the Region of Murcia. The estimated compensation for insured fruit growers exceeds 2 million euros, although damage to arable, aromatic and vegetable crops will raise the final figure to approximately 3 million.
La Rioja, Navarre and Alava (Basque Country): 4.2 million
In the northern part of the peninsula, the most damaging hail storms occurred on Thursday, June 3 and Friday, June 4. In the case of La Rioja, the estimate of compensation is close to 1.5 million euros, mainly to compensate the damage suffered by insured fruit and wine growers in the Rioja Alta (Casalarreina) and Rioja Baja (Alfaro).
In Navarra, these stormy episodes have affected herbaceous and fruit crops in Tierra Estella (municipalities such as Piedramillera or Mendaza) and La Ribera, with damages amounting to 1.4 million euros.
In Alava, these rains were felt on Thursday, 3 and have left 1.3 million euros in compensation mainly to compensate the damage to winegrowers in Rioja Alavesa, especially in the municipalities of Oión or Yécora.
Although the rest of the regions were less affected, the hail storms that occurred between May 29 and June 9 caused damage in seven other autonomous communities, with compensation of varying amounts distributed among Andalusia, Cantabria, Catalonia, Valencia, Extremadura, Galicia and the Community of Madrid.
News Source: Adn del Seguro 11/06/21