"New plantations of mandarins huge"

The overseas citrus season is in full swing. "It certainly isn't a bad season and the prices are at a reasonable level, but it is all hands on deck," says Eddy Kreukniet of Exsa Europe. An update on the gigantic plantations of mandarins, the qualitatively difficult orange season, the recovered lemon market and scarce grapefruit.

Mandarins
"The gigantic new plantations of mandarins are striking. South Africa and to lesser extent in Peru have huge new plantations of mandarins. Over the coming years there will be 30% more mandarins available in the summer, which means the global market will have to be searched to guarantee the sales," says Eddy. "A lot of new varieties arrived on the market in recent weeks and this caused unrest and varied prices on the market. That price could vary from 1 Euro per kilo for Clementines to 1.70 Euro for Nadorcott. Now the Valley Gold, Minneolas and Nadorcott are left and there is more rest on the market."

Oranges
"A lot less oranges were exported from South Africa, but it is a very average year for quality, varying from problems in the orchard to torn fruit to rain. The Navels in particular are not a storing fruit at the moment. Prices are still good with a level around 13/14 Euro. Now the volumes are drying up a little and the assortment consists of Autumn Gold and Rustenburg, as well as the late Navel varieties," says Eddy. "In contrast to the hand oranges, the Valencias that we are receiving from South Africa and Zimbabwe are a blessing in their quality. I expect more volumes of them, but the declining supply of Navels will keep the total volume in balance. Like last year it won't be a late season and we will be done 2/3 weeks earlier than usual."

Lemons
The overseas lemons had a difficult start. "Spain was on the market for much longer than expected, but in the meantime the import programmes with South Africa, Argentina and Uruguay had already gotten started. Some customers started overseas lemons 2 to 4 weeks later, which caused a stock situation," says Eddy. "The situation thankfully recovered in the past weeks, the volumes are under control and there are good sales. But we are coming from weeks where the price was 50% lower than in the previous year. The expectation is that Turkey, Israel and Spain will start later, so hopefully the situation will remain stable, but we certainly aren't expecting shortages."

Grapefruit
Grapefruit is the lone wolf of the citrus assortment this season. "The prices have been good all season. Especially in the beginning, but we are still at a price level of 15-16 Euro at the moment. The supply is under control and the sales are stable. The season in the north of South Africa is done. Now we are switching to the Eastern Cape and then Israel, Turkey and Spain will take over again," concludes Eddy. Finally, he indicates that the drought is a considerable issue in South Africa. "Our grape growers are worried about the amount of water that's available."

For more information:
Eddy Kreukniet
Exsa Europe
Tel: +31 88 735 0003
Mob: +31 620 25 78 11
info@exsaeurope.com
www.exsaeurope.com