The Climate of the Murcia region as well as its soil and the skill of the inhabitants make it suitable for very varied, high-quality agriculture. Cultivated lands occupy 606,000 hectares, 53.5 % of the region.
In irrigated regions, vegetables are the main crop (tomatoes, lettuce, melon, broccoli, peppers, celery, etc..) They occupy over 40,000 hectares and a large proportion of them are grown using ecological or integrated agricultural methods.Citrus Fruits are grown on 33,000 hectares, with lemons covering 23,000 hectares. Murcia is therefore Spain´s top producer of lemons.
The most widely-produced fruit crops are stone fruits such as peaches, apricots and plums. They occupy about 30,000 hectares, with table grapes occupying 5,000. The quality of fruits and vegetables from the Region of
Murcia is well known in international markets.
A number of studies conducted over the last 30 years show that the percentage of myocardial infarct and cancer death rate in countries on the Mediterranean rim, especially Spain, is lower than in other parts of the world. This surprised researchers, who found out that the eating habits of people in these countries were one of the main causes explaining this phenomenon. From that moment, the Mediterranean diet started to be considered a factor
preventing illnesses such as the abovementioned.
Legumes, vegetables, pasta and fruit, which are commonly used in the Mediterranean cuisine, are food products recommended due to their low glycemic index. One of the main contributors regulating the glycemic index is
fiber, because it retains nutrients and delays their absorption.