The agricultural organization Asaja Córdoba has reported that a 15% drop in the province's production is expected this citrus campaign compared to the previous one. There is also uncertainty regarding prices in a year in which the national production is expected to fall by more than 20%.
According to the Price Tracking Board of the Lonja de Cítricos, Navelina oranges are being traded for between € 0.18 and € 0.20 / kg for the first class and between € 0.16 and € 0.17 / kg for the second class. Meanwhile, Salustiana orange cost between 0.17 and 0.20 € / kg for the first class. These prices are based on operations carried out in recent weeks.
Once again, and thanks to the success achieved in previous campaigns, Asaja Córdoba is collaborating with the Chamber of Commerce at the Price Tracking Board of the Lonja de Cítricos. The first session took place on November 5 in the town of Fuente Palmera.
As in previous years, the Citrus Board will meet weekly in that municipality of Cordoba, and the meeting will be attended by agents from the sector, with both producers and traders from the various citrus producing municipalities of the province.
Moreover, and taking advantage of the first meeting of the members of the Price Tracking Board of the Lonja de Cítricos, an analysis and harvest forecast has been made for the current citrus campaign. Quality fruit is expected in this key sector for Córdoba, with 11,963 hectares devoted to citrus production, according to official data.
Córdoba's Lonja de Cítricos has not started its activity earlier as it didn't wish to encourage the harvest of unripe oranges.
The members of the board, both producers and traders, expect the citrus production in the 2019/2020 campaign to be reduced by about 15% compared to last year. This will especially affect varieties such as the Navelina. Furthermore, “as the harvest develops, the yields are also lower than initially expected, and this could result in a still sharper drop in the production.”
As in previous years, the objective of the Lonja de Cítricos is to ensure transparency in the sector's prices, and to help farmers to know prices reliably to sell their orange, attending to its variety, size and quality, and all this protected by the Chamber of Commerce of Córdoba.
The Lonja de Cítricos was first introduced thirteen years ago and has become established over time. It reports prices weekly based on the operations carried out, and contributes to the defense of the production on the part of the entrepreneurs by keeping them up to date with current market trends. Moreover, it joins forces once a year with the Lonja de Valencia for the celebration of the Annual National Lonja, which will be held this year in the province of Córdoba.
Rejection of the rising costs of Agroseguro
For its part, Asaja is fully opposed to the plans that the Spanish Association of Combined Agrarian Insurance Entities (Agroseguro) has announced, which involve rising costs and cutting citrus insurance coverage.
The agrarian organization believes that "the conditions of the citrus insurance should not be allowed to worsen in such a severe manner, especially given the dramatic profitability crisis that the sector is suffering."
It is not reasonable for insurance costs to rise again by 10%, while the incidents rate in Córdoba has fallen for the second year in a row.
For more information:
Asaja Córdoba
Avda. La Torrecilla s/n. Córdoba, Spain
Phone.: +34 957480600
asaja@asajacordoba.es
www.asajacordoba.es