The Rojo Brillante (Bright Red) kaki campaign is already underway and significant volumes will hit the market within weeks.
The kaki harvest, protected by the Designation of Origin Kaki Ribera del Xúquer, will be about 5% greater than last season, reaching between 210,000 and 220,000 tonnes. Similarly, the area under cultivation has also increased this year by between 4 and 5%.
While high temperatures and hailstorms caused some fruit to fall during the summer, this has been beneficial for the fruit sizes, which are larger than at the start of the previous week.
"We have started the campaign with better quality and larger calibres than last year, which will contribute to a good start in terms of sales," explains Rafael Perucho, manager of the PDO Ribera del Xúquer.
Growing presence in Canada, Brazil, the U.S. and the Middle East
80% of the kakis sold under the Persimmon brand of the PDO Ribera del Xúquer go to export markets, mainly in Europe, with Germany, France, the UK and Italy as the most remarkable destinations.
"We believe that kakis are still a relatively unknown product, so we are carrying out various promotional activities, both in the media and at retail outlets, such as supermarkets and greengrocers across Europe. Last year we started to develop promotional campaigns in Canada with very positive results, and this year we want to continue working in this market," points out Rafael.
"Our goal is to open new doors outside the EU. We have spent years introducing kakis in Canada, the United States and Brazil, and we will continue boosting shipments to these countries. We are also finding interesting commercial opportunities in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan."
For Rafael Perucho, the kaki market still has great potential and the possibilities for further growth are huge. "We believe there is still a long way to go. In the long term, our goal is to stop kakis from being considered an exotic and unknown fruit and make them a regular item in everyone's shopping cart."
The closure of the Russian market is no reason for speculation
Last season, average prices were lower than in the previous campaign, which has been attributed by some players in the sector as a direct consequence of the loss of the Russian market.
"10% of kakis were shipped to Russia before the veto, especially those of standard categories; however, shipments to Belarus have also grown considerably in recent years and continue to increase. It is a market with similar preferences," he explains.
"The closure of the Russian market should not have a direct impact on kaki prices, since we are selling the same volume, given our entry into new markets and the higher consumption figures. How can we then account for the prices achieved during the first year of the Russian veto? The fall in prices last year is rather due to market speculation."
The presence of whitefly is testimonial
While it is true that some whitefly specimens have been found in the fields of Valencia, their presence is only testimonial, according to Rafael Perucho, and the insect does not at all represent a serious threat to the kaki sector.
"For many years we heard nothing of this pest, which has always been a problem for citrus producers, but for us it is only a temporary and isolated issue. It is very common to find other pests at certain times, such as the fruit fly or the so-called 'cotonet'. It is logical that as the production area devoted to kakis increases, such inconveniences will also become more common, but for now it falls within the normal range; it is something that affects all crops and that can be perfectly controlled.