Climate change enables pitaya production in Spain

7-9-2026

As a result of climate change, fruit crops can now be grown in Europe that would have been unthinkable only a few decades ago. One recent example is pitaya, or dragon fruit, in the far south of Spain. The mild climate and abundant sunshine along Spain’s Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts are said to provide optimum growing conditions for the crop. Pitayas de Andalucía, a cooperative established specifically for pitaya production, expects to harvest between 550,000 and 600,000 kg of the exotic fruit this year. More than 60 Spanish and Portuguese growers are members of the cooperative.

Dragon fruit originates from Central America but is now grown in many tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. In southern Spain, the fruit is harvested from late June until December. According to Pitayas de Andalucía, demand from Europe is strong. Last year, 70% of production was sold within Europe. (Sources: Fruchtportal.de and RevistaMercados.com)