The high temperatures registered after the summer are hampering the colouring process of the citrus grown in the province of Huelva, although this does not affect the fruit's internal ripening, which is developing normally.
Another issue detected by producers in Huelva at the start of this season, and confirmed by the reports of the Prices and Markets Observatory of the Government of Andalusia, is related to calibres in general, which are somewhat smaller compared with previous campaigns.
Producers hope rainfall in the rest of winter will help the fruit gain some size, as the percentage of small calibres remains quite high in the plantations. This situation is delaying the harvest, which continues at a slow pace.
These setbacks, however, are not taking a toll on prices, which remain at the same levels as in previous campaigns; orange prices are actually even higher than those of the previous two seasons.
The same cannot be said about mandarins, whose prices in late October were similar to those of the previous season and have, however, dropped in November.
Regarding lemons, the harvest is going at a rather slower pace than in the previous season, but the value of the product at origin is twice as high as what was paid in the same period last year.