"The stone fruit campaign is coming to an end in the Metaponto area. While we are waiting for the last late varieties harvested in early August to be commercialized, we are already planning the new citrus fruit campaign," explains Franco Lillo, technician at OP AssoFruit Italia.
"The climate changes occurred over the past few years and the change in behavior of consumers are putting growers to the test. After strawberries and apricots, it seems citrus fruit has also suffered the latest weather events. Checks carried out over the past few days show there are only few oranges and clementines on trees."
"A drop in production that might even reach 65/70% is affecting the entire Ionian area between Massafra (Taranto) and Mirto Crosia (Cosenza). Clementines are the most affected. Heavy rains, violent hailstorms and low temperatures during blossoming followed by the heat led to drops, meaning there are now only 15/20 fruits per plant."
"For example, Clemenruby - among the first clementine to become available and a multigem cultivar - has seen a 50% drop. The production of SRA89 is below 30%."
"Although quality is guaranteed, growers are worried about the market. The only hope is that, with a low supply and stable demand, prices could be higher than usual. The produce available must be managed in the right way, avoiding imports at cheap prices that could damage many businesses."
"The past campaign was characterized by a market crisis which led many producers to cutting down entire crops. The same thing could happen during the next campaign."
"The same problem seems to be affecting late clementines such as Hernandina®, Tardivo di Catania and Mandalate, while the phenomenon seems to be more contained for oranges, as the drop is only 20% and might even lead to higher quality and grades."