Demand is currently not a problem on the citrus market. The only problem: there’s too little trade available. “We’re not receiving the volumes yet that we’d like to see. That results in considerable prices for all overseas citrus,” says Randolf Aaldijk from Origin Fruit Direct.
“The situation in the Eastern and Western Cape is dramatic. I’ve seen so many split oranges lying on the ground, the harvest in these areas can in fact be considered lost. This loss is probably the result of drought and high temperatures during the setting, although the situation can vary greatly per region and grower,” Randolf says. “Some growers supply their entire harvest to industry. The northern regions have decent volumes, but everyone is trying to get those.”
“Prices for Navels are now at a level between 15-16 euro in a telescope box, and 16-17 euro in open-top packaging. While people sometimes hit the brakes before starting with Valencia, they will now try to start as soon as possible,” the importer expects. “Price-wise, grapefruit is a Hosanna story. Everything we receive, doesn’t even touch the ground and prices are between 18 and 21 euro. The same is true for tangerines, we’re out of product and prices are great.”
“All in all, the weather made for a challenging season, but I’d rather have it a bit more regular. With these kinds of extremes, you can barely fill your regular programmes, and you can’t do anything about it. Furthermore, South Africa has been creating export options over the past 20 years, and they are no longer dependent on Europe. The FCM / CBS situation also stops many growers from exporting to Europe. So without good agreements on programmes and prices, less and less will be sent to Europe.”
For more information:
Origin Fruit Direct
Keilestraat 9c
3029 BP Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Tel.: +31 (0)10 244 93 00
Fax: +31 (0)10 478 39 66
www.originfruitdirect.nl