There are fewer Iberian pine nuts and it’s her fault american bed bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis), which has caused the production of what is known as caviar de monte to drop by 80% in the last five years. Meanwhile, other varieties of pine nuts of lower quality, flavor and properties are taking over the market, most of them coming from China, Russia and Pakistan. The other big difference between the two products is the price: while the Asian varieties sell for around 45 euros/kilo, the much scarcer Iberian pinion reaches almost 100 euros/kilo.
The Operating Group GO PINEA presented the results of his research last February and his conclusion is irrevocable: “The drop in pine nut production in the Mediterranean is one 80% caused by damage to Leptoglossus occidentalis which gradually decreases the production of the product causing great losses in the yield of white pine nut”.
The American pineapple bug It is an insect that comes from North America and entered Europe through Italy in 1999. It feeds on the sap of buds, pine nuts and cones in formation, which spoil and do not germinate. Its presence in the Spanish pine forests multiplies during the hot months and destroy productionto the point that the trade of pine cones (the people who collect the pineapple from the tree) “is disappearing in all areas of Pinus Pinea pine forests,” denounces GO PINEA.
“The current decline in production threatens the survival of this producing sector and the livelihood of the rural population settled in the producing forest areas,” which currently encompass some 400,000 hectares located mainly in Madrid, Catalonia and many areas of Andalusia.
Russia, China and Pakistan dominate the stone market
The dramatic decline in the production of Iberian pine nuts and their spectacular price increase has caused the food industry to bet on “cheaper substitutes, cashew nuts or seeds of other Asian species of the genus Pinusdespite his very different quality, taste and nutritional valuewithout worrying about highlighting this change in the labeling”, according to the CSIC alert in its report “Production and trade of edible pine nuts in the world”.
One of the most widespread varieties is the Siberian pinewhich comes mainly from Russia (5,700 tons of average annual production); the Pinus koraiensis of China (5,600 tons, although a part of its production comes from land located in Russia); and the Pinus gerardiana of Pakistan (6,500 tons). By comparison, the Mediterranean variety (Pine tree) It supposes a production of less than 2,000 annual tons adding the four main producing countries.
To warn that “the presence of the Iberian pine nut has been considerably reduced in Spanish gastronomy, being replaced by foreign and lower quality species”, GO PINEAD has launched a campaign to highlight the characteristics of the Iberian pine nuts: “The pinion of the Pine tree it has more protein, more minerals, a creamier texture and a resinous flavor that characterizes it and sets it apart.”
There is hope for the stone pine
Despite the damage caused by the American bedbug, the GO PINEAD group assures that there is hope to save production of Iberian pinion “integrating all the tools and innovations experienced in this time and combining them in a coordinated way”
We are talking about “different genotypes from clonal banks, massive collection of specimens for study, predictive models with large and reliable data, phytosanitary treatments with authorized products of proven efficacy and innocuous for the environment and human consumption, grafted plant, good practices and proper management of pruning, thinning and selective clearing to improve production,” they point out.
