Peaches, nectarines, flat peaches and other stonefruits are likely to have been the most hit in the summer fruit campaign that is about to conclude, with average prices below production costs. And, unlike last year, when prices started to drop in mid-season, in the current campaign they entered a downward trend since the very beginning.
The continuous increase in production year after year has already raised some alarms, with an oversupply of 13% which has led to a significant drop in prices. To make matter worse, only in the last stage of the campaign did the European Commission decide to implement a plan of extraordinary measures to prevent the price crisis, and then Dmitri Medvedev announced the decision of the Russian Federation to veto all food imports from the EU, U.S. and Canada, among others, in response to sanctions.
At present, according to Sebastiá Escarp, president of the cooperative Fruits de Ponent, "the situation has improved over the past few weeks," but he says that "this is not due to the extraordinary measures approved by the EC for the withdrawal of fruit, but to the fact that the season is finishing two weeks earlier than usual this year because of the weather and there is less fruit left."
"While all help is welcome, the extraordinary withdrawal measures were adopted too late. We know it is a difficult task for the administrations, but if we had been granted these measures in mid-July, with a funding of 20 cents per kg instead of 13 cents, things could have been different," he adds.
The Russian veto came at the worst time, just when the Russian market appeared interesting for Spanish stonefruit, since the production of Turkey and Greece also finished earlier than usual and demand had started to increase significantly.
"For four weeks since the veto was applied to imports, producers have been selling fruit between 8 and 10 cents below the production costs," says Escarp. Four weeks may not seem like much, but it is an eternity for seasonal products such as stonefruit with a short shelf life as compared to pome fruit; the fruit needs to be sold quickly.
"At the moment, with most producers having finished the harvest, prices cover only the production costs," continues Escarp. Unlike last season, which finished with falling prices, this campaign will close with an upward trend. However, the average price will remain well below last year.
Aragon and Catalonia are the two Spanish regions most affected by the Russian veto on stonefruit. Aragon's annual production stands at 466 million kilos, and by mid-August around 60% had been harvested. The 166 million kilos that were left to be harvested were intended for Eastern Europe, including Russia. For its part, Catalonia produces about 400,000 tonnes of peaches and nectarines, of which 13%, 50,000 tonnes, is usually shipped to the Russian market.