After consulting with several agents in the sector, cooperatives, producer organizations, brokers, producers and all members of the Lonja de Cítricos, Asaja Córdoba has estimated that the next citrus harvest in the province of Córdoba will be around 15-20% smaller than last season, when a record volume was achieved.
In the province, it appears that "the decline is more or less uniform" in varieties such as the Navelina and Valencia, and that there is more variation with other varieties, such as the Salustiana, depending on the area and the age of the plantations.
These data are also consistent with those of the 2019/2020 campaign in Spain, where 6.27 million tons are expected, according to the Ministry of Agriculture; that is, 17% less than last season and 8% below average. In any case, these figures have yet to be revised following the impact of the storms recorded a few days ago in the Spanish Levant.
For its part, the Andalusian Council of Agriculture also predicts a 7.2% decrease in the production of oranges in the province of Cordoba.
The sector believes that last season, the orange production volume stood at around 330,000 tons, and with this year's expected 15 to 20% reduction, "we would reach approximately 260,000 tons; a similar volume to that of 2 years ago."
Asaja Córdoba says that "it is very difficult to estimate the real citrus production in the province," since the percentage of producers who do not belong to producer organizations is very high and they sell their oranges directly to stores in the Region of Valencia, or devote them to the export market.