Penedono, Viseu, Portugal, Nov. 6, 2025 (Lusa) - The wildfires and drought in the summer have caused losses of more than 75% in the production of Portugal's martaínha chestnuts, with losses of millions of euros, the president of the Penela da Beira Agricultural Cooperative told the Lusa news agency on Thursday.
‘This year, we have few chestnuts. A few days before St. Martin's Day [11 November], in normal years we would have more than 200 tonnes of chestnuts. At this point, at the peak of the season, we have about 50 tonnes,’ said the president of the Penela da Beira Cooperative, Aires Macieira.
On St. Martin's Day, bread, chestnuts and wine! This is how tradition dictates that in November and on St. Martin's Day, magustos are held, the traditional festivals where chestnuts are roasted and água-pé (wine made from grapeskins) is drunk. Chestnuts are eaten because this is when this nutritious food is harvested, between October and December.
The Cooperativa Agrícola de Penela da Beira, in the municipality of Penedono, district of Viseu, works with martaínha chestnuts from 10 districts in the regions of Viseu and Guarda, with the protected designation of origin of Soutos da Lapa.
"In good years, we have up to 300 tonnes of chestnuts, and we export around 90% of our production. This year, we have already warned our customers that they will not have any chestnuts. And they know this because they followed the fires in the summer," he said.
Aires Macieira also told Lusa that this "drop of more than 75%’ translates into a ‘loss of many millions of euros, because Martaínha chestnuts are the best in the world and are in high demand abroad, people pay for them, and this year there are none".
In the domestic market, "it is natural that they are more expensive, and as they are not a basic and essential product, although they are very nutritious, people end up giving them up or buying less, just to get a taste" in São Martinho.
"The fires took almost all of our chestnut groves. We will see in the spring what the real damage was, which ones will bloom and which ones won't. And then the high temperatures and drought in September prevented the fruit from developing".
The rain that started last week "only benefited the harvest, because with dry ground it is much more difficult, as the husks don't open and they prickle a lot."
This drop means that the cooperative "suffers enormous losses," because "it's millions of euros that aren't coming in, it's debts to the banks that have to be renegotiated, it's labour that isn't being hired, and all of this causes damage to the local economy" of the region.
"In a normal year, on a day like this, there would be seven, eight, nine people working here. Look how many are here today. Two. And they don't have much to do, the work is done."
The chestnuts that have come into the cooperative "are few, but of absurdly good quality, they are really very good, despite being smaller than in previous years, but they are of much higher quality, and last year they were already good."
Aires Macieira also stressed that, "despite the commitments made to the banks, the cooperative's priority will be to pay the producers."
He therefore promised that "no producer will be left without their payment" for this year's production.
IYN/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
