Cristóbal Aguado, president of the Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-ASAJA), has sent a letter to all major food distribution chains in which he asks the leaders of these companies to give Spanish citrus fruits a preferential treatment in terms of visibility and prominence. The idea is to make it easier for consumers to differentiate them from the oranges and mandarins from third countries that are flooding the shelves these days.
In its letter, the organization expresses its growing concern about the current situation, since the presence of citrus from Valencia and other Spanish producing areas on supermarket shelves is still very scarce and does not correspond to the growing supply available and increased harvesting rate. The truth is that right now, citrus fruits from third countries, basically from the southern hemisphere, continue to be the most common on the shelves of large retailers.
The president of AVA-ASAJA reminded those in charge at the supermarket chains that the start of the citrus season is a key moment to ensure a good development of the campaign and appealed to their professionalism for the implementation of responsible marketing policies that benefit all agents in the value chain, from producers to consumers. Cristóbal Aguado underlined the decisive influence that these companies have when setting trends as far as consumption and prices are concerned, given their size and specific weight in the markets.
The letter also mentions the very appreciable decline to be recorded in the citrus production this season in the Region of Valencia; about 20%, according to the official estimates recently published by the Council of Agriculture. Other areas of Spain also recorded downward trends in their production volumes. The supply and demand of citrus fruits in Spain will consequently be under pressure this year, and this situation should translate into fair and balanced prices for citrus growers.