<p></p><p>The Councillor of Agriculture of the regional Government, MarÃa Luisa Soriano, has announced the prospect for a great almond campaign in 2015 for Castile-La Mancha, with harvest volumes expected to reach almost 8,000 tonnes, "and which will compensate for last year's low production caused by drought."<br></p> <p>The Councillor stressed "the international reputation of Castile-La Mancha's almonds, whose cultivation has become an excellent alternative due to the good profitability the product ensures."Soriano opened the 5th Almond Conference, held in Villalpardo, Cuenca, where she recalled that Spain is a world leader when it comes to almond production and that the region has consolidated its position as the country's second largest producer, "which shows the strength of this crop in Castile-La Mancha."In this regard, she stressed that "around 90% of the Spanish almond production is intended for the international markets," mostly countries of the European Union, such as France and Germany, and stated that "demand for Castile-La Mancha's almonds is still on the rise, making it possible to increase production while maintaining good prices." <br></p> <p>As for the acreage, Soriano pointed out that, over the past four years, the area devoted to nuts, mainly almonds, has increased in the region by 14%, reaching nearly 75,000 hectares this campaign, of which 90% corresponds to almonds.The Councillor of Agriculture of Castile-La Mancha also stated that almond producers "should take advantage of their strengths and the product's high quality to further increase the crop's profitability," to which end she considered it necessary "to promote the creation of associations to concentrate supply, save in production costs and innovate."She also said that "in order to meet these challenges, the sector will enjoy the stability provided by the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which will ensure 1.9 million Euro in aid per year; funds which will go to the 8,000 growers of rainfed almond in the region, and which will be complemented by state aid provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and the regional Government.<br></p><p></p>