The month of June has been the driest in decades for the Chilean capital of Santiago, but a representative of the country's main fruit industry body believes consequences for growers should be limited.

Chile's Meteorological Department said in a recent report the area had not received a drop of precipitation so far during this month, making it the driest June since 1966.

At the time of writing, the years with the driest June on record were 2015 (0.0mm), 2001 (0.3mm), 1979 (0.7mm), 1990 (1.6mm), 1975 (2.5mm).

The organization added no rains were expected until next week at the earliest, meaning the whole of June could pass without any rainfall.

Much of the Andean country has been experiencing drought conditions over recent years, which are being felt particularly strongly in the north.

However, a representative from Chile Federation of Fruit Producers (Fedefruta) told www.freshfruitportal.com the capital's Metropolitan Region enjoyed certain aspects that meant a temporary lack of rainfall should not be disastrous.

"The Metropolitan Region is somewhat more privileged than other regions in the sense that the effects of the drought are taking a bit longer to arrive due to geographical conditions, such as the rivers in this area," the representative said.

"In comparison, the IV Region [to the north of Santiago] or the V Region [to the west] are not coping as well. The V (Valparaiso) region has infrastructural problems, and drought conditions are being felt particularly strongly in the IV (Coquimbo) region. The VI Region [to the south] is coping much better too."

In March this year the Chilean government announced a CLP105 billion (US$168.8 million) drought action plan with a national scope.

The construction and renovation of dams is just one of the actions to be included in the initiative, which will also provide support to growers, the installation of micro-desalting plants, and rainwater harvesting for 6,500 households.

The announcement came a couple of months after a report by the country’s Center for the Study of Arid Zones (CEZA) described water resources in the IV Region as “critical” and “in very scare supply”.

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www.freshfruitportal.com