The blockade measures in place in northern Italy to stop the spread of the coronavirus have caused a setback to citrus exporters in the Spanish province of Alicante, since 20% of their shipments were intended for that now blocked Italian region, to supply its street markets and stalls.
Until a week ago, trucks loaded with hundreds of boxes weighing between twelve and fifteen kilos were departing every day, arriving at a platform in northern Italy, just in the isolated area, from where they were later distributed to street markets. "It was a powerful market to which we were supplying thousands of kilos of citrus, but which is now closed. We fear that we will see the same happening in Paris, another market where we sell," says José Vicente Andreu, Asaja secretary in the Vega Baja.
Alicante annually exports fruit and vegetable products to Italy worth around one hundred million Euro. At the moment, citrus sales have ground to a halt.
Another of the negative consequences for the province's exporting companies is the fear of the carriers. Truck drivers are not willing to travel to Italy and, to a lesser extent, to Germany, to carry fruits and vegetables for fear of being left behind a blockade. However, the sale of fruit and vegetable products in Spain has increased, as there has been a growth in the demand from large food chains and supermarkets.
In total, the Region of Valencia exports 3.5 million tons of fruit and vegetables a year, which generate more than 4,000 million Euro. Oranges, lemons, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, watermelon and table grapes are the most demanded products in Europe, according to Fepex, the Spanish Federation of Fruit and Vegetable Exporting Companies.
30% of the turnover corresponds to the province of Alicante, where 116,029 people work in the fruit and vegetable sector, either directly or indirectly. It is an eminently exporting sector, with more than 1,000 million Euro in turnover per year. The main destinations for exports are Germany, with 20.5% of the total; France, with 18.1%; Italy, with 8.5%; the United Kingdom, with 7.4%; and the Netherlands, with 4.8%. The increase in exports to the United States, Poland, the Czech Republic, China and Sweden over the past two years is also noteworthy.
Source: diarioinformacion.com
