“Earlier we had a forecast of a 9 percent drop in production compared with last year, but the heatwave on 3 and 4 August means that we now foresee a fall of between 15 percent and 25 percent, Domingos dos Santos, from the sector association told Lusa News Agency.
Growers fear that the fruit is not going to grow any larger and so has started maturing earlier with smaller fruit and lower quality.
The harvest, which starts on Monday for most growers, is going to mobilise more than 50,000 workers.
In related news, winemakers are set to lose millions of euros as a result of the August heatwave.
According to the new calculations, Lisbon wine producers are estimating losses of 30 percent, and have asked the government to intervene. The Commission representing the region, said that losses are expected to exceed nine million euros. The Lisbon wine region is the biggest exporter of national wines and the second largest producer of wines in the country.