When visiting Valencia, the first thing you notice is the cold. It remains chilly during the day when the sun is shining, but at night, temperatures drop to a few degrees above freezing. Temperatures were even freezing a few nights ago, which severely damaged the kaki production. The growers association AVA-Asaja estimates the damages to be around 5 million euro. About 20 per cent of the kakis in Valencia still have to be harvested and about 40 per cent of this fruit is severely damaged.
The citrus productions in the area are a few weeks ahead. Producers therefore expect the season to finish earlier this year. In addition, exporters look back at the start of the season with mixed feelings as well, with competition for the overseas citrus apparently increasing year after year.
For the second half of the season, certain exporters are aiming for the Chinese market with the late oranges. This is only possible with the best quality, which is still challenging because of the 35-day transit time. Some exporters have already stopped, but others think it has much potential. Building a brand appears to be the magic word for this, allowing for higher prices with premium citrus on this market.
On the European market, where the majority of Spanish citrus is sold, it’s not that easy to make good prices. Although the citrus productions are much lower and quality much higher this year, it’s not easy for traders to convert the higher prices in the fields to higher sales prices.
We’ll visit various packing station of, among other things, citrus, kakis and onions this week: to be continued.