"Spain: "Clemenules oversupply in November and December"

After a complicated period for citrus between November and mid-December, demand for clementines is slightly rebounding a few days before the Christmas holidays, as explained by Abel Alarcón, manager of the Valencian company Brio Fruits.

"The citrus season has been positive for mandarins and clementines until early November, with reasonable prices, especially when compared with the start of last year's season, when there was an abundance of small calibres," he explains.

The high temperatures until mid-November accelerated the ripening of the popular Clemenules variety; consequently, supply was concentrated in a short period of time when the cold arrived. "If we also take into account the heavy rains in this period, the situation deteriorated even further, as wet fruit cannot be stored as long in warehouses and, therefore, traders were in a hurry to sell the product at any price, with a quality that ranged between low and regular, causing the market to collapse and putting lots of pressure on prices, both in Europe and overseas," continues Alarcón.

It is also worth noting that the Clemenules is the most common clementine variety, and although conversions to new varieties have been carried out, there is still excess production, which is especially felt when the weather is not conducive to staggered harvesting.

Regarding oranges, although no problems with cracking or small calibres have been registered, prices have remained very low as a result of oversupply, which has marked the past few campaigns.

The exporter is optimistic about the forthcoming weeks. "Now we are seeing a slight increase in sales, which we expect to continue until the end of the year. When the Christmas holidays are over, the citrus market is expected to become quiet again."

Forty years of Brio Fruits

Brio Fruits is celebrating its 40 year anniversary, which it will celebrate with some small changes in its packaging.

The Valencian company was founded in the mid-70s, with the initial purpose of shipping quality oranges and clementines to the firm Banagrumes, in Paris.

After many years, specifically from 2003, Brio Fruits started expanding to other export markets, and its model became widely accepted. It was thus how its citrus products expanded into markets such as Italy, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Poland and others. Nowadays, 95% of Brio Fruits' products are exported, also reaching non-EU markets such as Canada, South Africa, and Russia, among others.

Market diversification and increased volumes have made it necessary to invest in storage facilities, making it possible to maintain the same quality standards while increasing production capacity. Significant investments have also been made in recent years to increase the company's own production of oranges and clementines, as well as other products, like cherries.