Extremadura heat wave damages tomato and cereal crops

In late July 2026, successive heat waves swept Spain’s Extremadura region, pushing daytime temperatures above 40 °C and keeping night‑time lows around 26‑28 °C. The extreme heat impeded fruit development and severely reduced industrial tomato yields. Initial estimates from the APAG Extremadura Asaja federation indicated losses of 30‑40 % of the crop, with some farms seeing up to a 40 % reduction and revenue shortfalls of €2,000‑€3,000 per hectare. Farmers reported output falling from typical 80‑100 000 kg to roughly 60‑70 000 kg, while contract prices (€107 per tonne) remained far below production costs (≈€150 per tonne).

Agricultural organisations now report that the same heat event also devastated cereal production. Wheat, oat and barley outputs are expected to drop about 25 % after earlier excessive rain left fields water‑logged, delaying sowing and limiting machinery access. Leaders such as Juan Moreno of COAG Extremadura attribute the cereal shortfall to heavy rains, soil saturation and consequent plant stress.

The sector continues to call for reliable agricultural insurance and legislative measures to better protect the food‑chain supply chain across the Upper and Lower Guadiana floodplains.