The strawberry planting is under way in Huelva province, with between 8,000 and 10,000 jobs available for Spanish nationals/residents.
However, around 700 Moroccans have been hired as reserves, ready to start at short notice should they be needed.
Some 6,300 hectares of strawberries will be planted, similar to last year, with the harvesting taking place from February onwards.
Although there were rains last night, the planting has apparently being going normally and, if heavy rains hold off until November, the plants should be well rooted by then and should survive.
Production of strawberries in Huelva for 2009 was 225,800 tons, ten per cent less than during the previous season but turnover was up by 3% at €304.8 million.
This year, the farmers in Huelva are producing a variety of strawberry called ‘Fortuna’. This variety was tested during the end of last season and passed all the various climate tests.