Oversupply and too-low prices characterize the 2018/19 Spanish citrus season. This is according to Marcel de Koning. He is Agribur's Commercial Manager. This company is based in La Vall d'Uixó, Spain. "There were reports to expect a much larger production volume in Spain than the previous season," he says.
"This was in the run-up to the season already. Other production countries were going to be sending larger volumes to Europe too. These countries include Egypt and Morocco. This makes the total citrus supply much bigger than previous years."
"These countries have far lower labor costs than Spain. That makes it difficult for Spanish citrus farmers and exporters to compete at these low prices. We can only compete by having better quality and exporting products that guarantee food safety," says Marcel.
"Our production is now already well below European limits for crop protection. Our fruit does not get any chemical treatment after it has been harvested. We, however, take this a step further. We offer our clients a product that shows zero pesticide residues after analysis."
"This season we have also started cultivating organic citrus. This is going very well. We are convinced that, here too, we can offer something good to our clients. This product is also of high quality," Marcel goes on to say.
"There is talk of a dramatic Spanish citrus season with extremely low prices. It might even be the lowest point in 30 years. When it comes to quality, it has been a good year. The sizes were a little smaller than we would like. However, the citrus is generally of good quality," Marcel explains.
"Sales of leaf mandarins, our flagship product, have not been too bad. These good sales are thanks to this product's good quality. We offer a constant, high-quality product to our clients. This means demand increases year-on-year."
"This year's increase in sales has not been as high as in other seasons. But Agribur keeps growing. This growth is certainly a good achievement this season," the Commercial Manager concludes.
For more information:
Marcel de Koning
Agribur
Tel: +34 (0) 679 811 147
comercial@agribur.es
www.agribur.es