The citrus campaign is at a very advanced stage in Spain, with very few mandarins, since the Orri is practically the only variety left and in very small volumes, and the Israeli Orri dominates the markets at the moment. At the same time, orange prices at origin and at retail are remarkably high.
"We are currently loading Navel Powell oranges and next week we will be shipping Navel Barnfield," explains Vicente Aguado, a fruit and vegetable buying and selling agent.
"For the first time in a long time, growers are receiving very decent prices for their oranges. In the market, the price of a kilo of quality oranges of the varieties Powel, Barnfield or Valencia Late stands above 1.20 Euro. It had been a long time since the trade conditions for oranges were so good," he affirms.
Apricot harvest starts slowly
Even though Europe expects greater apricot volumes this year, at the moment the lower temperatures in Spain are staggering the harvests in the different production areas, as the colouring and ripening of the fruit is taking longer to complete.
"We are making the first shipments to Italy, Belgium, Germany and France. Although the harvest is slow, it is in line with the consumption levels in the countries where we export the fruit, because it is too cold and this does not encourage the demand for stonefruit," concludes Vicente Aguado.