The sharp decrease that has occurred in recent years in the Algarve contrasts with the large increase in almond production in the country, mainly in the Alentejo, with the planting of new irrigated orchards in the Alqueva region, which allows productivity rates 10 times higher than those in the Algarve.

“The [almond] orchards are becoming extinct, they have all moved to the Alentejo and those that still exist are to feed the traditional pastry sector”, lamented the president of the Alfarroba and Almond Group (Agrupa), Horácio Piedade.

According to the director, Portugal is selling abroad, to tourists, “a product that no longer exists”, that is, the image of the Algarve with almond trees in bloom, a decline that is confirmed by the regional director of Agriculture of the Algarve.

Speaking to Lusa, Pedro Valadas Monteiro suggested that the only way to prevent the disappearance of traditional almond blossom trees will be, eventually, to subsidise producers for the service they provide in the environmental and tourist dimension.

“The region loses a lot with this decline, as the almond tree is a calling card for tourists, an iconic and core element in the Algarve Barrocal landscape”, he acknowledged, arguing that the traditional almond tree should be “rehabilitated” and “valued for its environmental and tourist component”.

According to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), 2022 was the best year for almond production, with the quantity produced in the country growing annually at an average rate of around 15.6% since 2010.

However, INE data indicate that the almond tree planting area in the Algarve is in countercycle compared to the rest of the country, having fallen from 13,338 hectares in 2002 to 7,502 a decade later, in 2012, and to 5,001 in 2022.