Mass Power Outage Halts Fruit Exports from Spain and Portugal

The mass power outage on the Iberian Peninsula significantly paralyzed the operations of farms in Spain and Portugal, leading to substantial losses in the fruit and vegetable sector. On April 28, in regions of the Iberian Peninsula, refrigerators, irrigation systems, loading ramps, and communication tools were non-functional for over 20 hours, complicating logistics and the preservation of products.

This is reported by AgroReview

According to Fresh Plaza, citing data from Red Eléctrica and testimonies from market participants, the situation caused significant difficulties for farmers and processing enterprises. One producer in the Murcia region noted:

“We are right in the middle of the stone fruit season, and after the blackout, it was impossible to even call the carriers, let alone load the trucks – the ramps were not working. The power was restored at night, and we were in emergency mode hiding the fruits that had been left untreated.”

Losses and Consequences of the Mass Power Outage

The head of the Proexport association, Mariano Zapata, reported that the assessment of losses is still ongoing:

“Companies without generators lost products in refrigerators, and some orders did not arrive at all. It was a day of complete chaos.”

In Portugal, according to Tânia Silva from Rush Farms Portugal, the first hours after the outage were particularly difficult for the population:

“Store shelves were emptied by 2:00 PM. In addition to the power outage, there were disruptions in water supply and mobile communication. This highlights the need for better management of water resources and energy independence.”

In the Valencia region, the lack of electricity halted the operation of ventilation systems in greenhouses and nurseries. Without generators, this caused problems for plants, especially during the active growth phase when irrigation and ventilation systems are critically important. Some companies managed to avoid significant losses thanks to generators or fortunate circumstances. However, market participants warn that prolonged power outages would have had far worse consequences.

Overall, this situation underscores the importance of developing energy autonomy and improving emergency response systems in agriculture.