The stone fruit sector is torn between the joy they feel for the good export results they had last year and the concern they have as this harvest won't be the best. At this juncture, and after years of negotiations, China has finally authorized the entrance of Spanish peaches and plums to its market, an important incentive for a sector that is still suffering the effects of the Russian veto.
This is good news in a campaign that has begun with a slowdown in demand, where producers still don't have large volumes of fruit, and the market is fairly still for all products, except for the flat peaches which currently has a production slump, said Antonio Tejada, the head of the stone fruit sector of Andalusia's Agricultural food Cooperatives.
In April, the central government signed an agreement with China, making Spain the first country to be able to sell their stone fruits to that country. Last week the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ) informed the Embassy of Spain in China that they had decided to authorize Spanish exports of peaches and plums to the Chinese markets. In fact, exports of these fruits can begin immediately, as Spain has demonstrated the strength and reliability of its control systems and phytosanitary certification of its production, stated the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
The AQSIQ published on its website a list of the authorized orchards, warehouses and cold facilities. Spain didn't export fruits to China until 2014, and so far they only allowed citrus imports. In 2014 China imported 1,150 tons of citrus. In 2015 they imported 3,218 tons, and only in the first quarter of 2016 they've already imported 2,270 tons.
In 2015, Andalusia exported a total of 83,200 tons of stone fruit to different markets. Exports included peach, nectarine, apricot, and plums, and totaled 126.8 million euro, i.e. 9.3% more than in the previous year, when they amounted to 116 million euro. This amount represents 12% of Spanish stone fruit exports, according to sources of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development.
Last year, Sevilla led stone fruit exports with more than 60,700 tons valued at 100.8 million euro, 4% more than in 2014. They were followed by Huelva, with 12,200 tons worth 14.3 million euro; and Almeria, with 7,512 tons of fruit worth 8.4 million euro.
Then comes Malaga, with nearly 1,800 tons worth 1.8 million euro; Jaen with 700,000 euros and 549 tons; Cordoba with 463,000 euro and 333 tons, Cadiz with 160,000 tons and 116 euro, and Granada with 75,000 euro and 73 tons.
The stone fruit with the biggest demand is nectarine, with more than 47,300 tons sold that generated a turnover of 70 million euro in 2015. It was followed by peaches, with nearly 22,800 tons worth about 38 million euro; plums with 7,000 tons worth 7.7 million euro, and apricots with more than 6,000 tons worth 10.7 million euro.
On a recent visit to the facilities of Royal SAT in San Jose de la Rinconada (Sevilla), the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Carmen Ortiz, said it was necessary to produce fruit that could be exported to "improve the sector's profitability and advance to find new business opportunities for the Andalusian fruit sector, which has been unjustly affected by the Russian veto."
In early June, the new rules regarding the aid for the Russian veto were issued. They are an extension of the previous period, with some minor changes, such as the inclusion of persimmon and cherries and a high percentage reduction of the quotas.
The aid is intended for producer organizations and farmers that are not members of these organizations. Some of the products likely to benefit from this regulation are tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, plums, fresh table grapes, oranges, clementines, tangerines, peaches, nectarines, and persimmons, among other products.
The period of implementation of these measures will be from June 11, 2016 to June 30, 2017, when the quota is exhausted or if Russia changes its stance.
The Russian veto has forced exporters to intensify the search for new foreign markets, just as Royal SAT, one of the only two Andalusian entities that can export stone fruits to China, has done. Royal SAT currently has 13 partners and a combined acreage of about 1,200 hectares of stone fruits, which produced a total of 27.8 million kilos worth more than 38 million euro in 2014. This company is mainly engaged in the production and marketing of stone fruit, but it also produces berries, such as blueberry, strawberry, and raspberry.
According to the technical services of the Agricultural Food Cooperatives of Spain, national production of stone fruits will amount to 1,598,931 tons this season, i.e. 3.6% less than in the previous year. Despite this, production will be higher than the average obtained in the last five seasons.
The largest declines will occur in plum, -11%, and nectarine, -5%. The paraguayo is the only stone fruit that will have an increase in production when compared to last year.
Nectarines account for 33% of the 1,598,931 tons of stone fruits that Spain will harvest, followed by peaches (18%), doughnut peaches (17%), Pavia (16%), plums (8%) and apricots (6%). According to estimates by the Agricultural Food Cooperatives, all the categories will have decreases that range from 11%, in plums, to about 5% in peaches, nectarines, and pavia; apricots will have a slight decline of 1.5%, while doughnut peaches will increase by 4.8%.
In the case of Andalusia, the unusually warm winter temperatures triggered an advance in the crops' bloom, which was longer than usual because of a few cold days that delayed the start of flowering. This has led to a 5 to 15% decline in production.
Source: diariodesevilla.es