Whether it's a bacterium, a downpour or extreme drought, oranges are having a bad time, and consumers will soon notice that in their wallets. The oranges we have in our supermarkets, come from all over the world. Normally, this would result in a constant supply of this citrus fruit, but now, a combination of factors threatens to drive up prices.
In the US, the oranges have Citrus Greening Disease, a bacterium. “This has been happening for years already. We just received reports from Florida that it was under control,” says Willem Koole, manager of Frukar, importer of citrus fruits. They are now planting young trees in the US again, but these do not yet give enough fruit.
Weather circumstances
“Then Brazil had too much rain,” Koole continues. We can therefore not expect fresh oranges from South America either. And Spain will keep us waiting for a while longer. “Normally we would now receive the first oranges from Spain, but they did not get enough rain, and had a long-lasting drought.” The Spanish harvest has been delayed by several weeks.
Speculation oranges
Should all of our hope then be focused on orange export country, South Africa? “No, only a few oranges are sent from South Africa to Europe. The South African orange market experienced much speculation. Many fruits then went to the Middle East, and the Chinese were also quicker than us.”
Source: BNR News Radio