"In Europe, Spain and Italy are the main medlar producers, but the latter is also a large consumer, so its exports are not significant and do not have an impact on the Spanish market," explains Sergio Todolí, of Orangenatur. For this reason, Spanish cooperatives devoted to the harvesting and marketing of medlars can ship up to 60% of their production to Italy.
However, there are doubts about the capacity to meet the great demand for extra quality and class I fruit. The storms that took place in December and January caused the fruits to hit each other or the branches, which can lead to brown spots appearing on their skin once ripe, making them unable to meet the standards of the Regulatory Council of the European Union. "The volume will not differ much from last year's, there will simply be more fruit that will be classified as class II or III," explains Todolí.
The main characteristic of Spanish medlars this year "will be their calibre, a little bigger than usual, which is a result of the rainfall recorded in recent weeks." Countries like the Netherlands, France, Italy and, soon Germany, will be the main destinations for the fruit this campaign.
For more information:
Sergio Todolí
Orangenatur
Tel.: +34 661 914 313