"Turkish exporters have been asking for higher prices for the last six weeks but the problem is the market won't pay and the volume keeps coming. This is probably because Russia has not been the golden star that they thought it would be. Some low quality arrivals did not help the market," explains Cullum. "Some of the lemon brands from Turkey have a better reputation and we are packing GoldCup with what we consider to be the best."The lime market is not so rosy either. Cullum said it is a bit of yo-yo product at the best of times, but it is coming off the back of very high prices in November and December. "We are now in the position where the market has too much fruit, the problem is that most of this fruit was bought at high prices in Brazil when the market was short and demand was increasing in the run up to Christmas and everyone was chasing fruit."
Mexico is still sending limes to the EU but the quality is not what it should be, it looks ok, but it has a very short shelf life which is causing problems on the market, according to Cullum.After a couple of good years, the lime situation seems to have returned to its normal state for January. Possibly the suppliers have been lured into a false sense of security by the good year, small sizes are not helping the situation either. As always with lime, predictions are very hard to make.
"In contrast the grapefruit market is surprisingly alright. It is normally a bit of a mess at this time of the year," says Cullum. "But prices are around £1 up on this time last year, I'm not sure why exactly, maybe because last year was a disaster and senders are being cautious." The supply just now is from Turkey, Israel and with some from Cyprus.
"We are currently working easypeelers from Morocco–the quality is excellent. The Afourer is a really good colour and right now the flavour is exactly the right balance. You know you have a good product when you cannot stop eating them," concludes Culum.
Pacific Produce will start with their main citrus imports from Peru in March, which will be in full flow by April and will run through until October.
For more information:
Robert Cullum
Pacific Produce
Tel: +44 (0) 1865877801
Email: rob@pacificproduce.co.uk
www.pacificproduce.co.uk