The Egyptian orange season actually started in January, that was with limited Navel volumes. But the Valencia season only truly got going a few weeks ago," says Joey Deen of Denimpex in the Netherlands.
"This season differs vastly from last year. That was an exceptional (good) season. COVID-19 broke out, and there was a great demand for oranges. That pushed prices to an unprecedented level, and the fruit sold quickly. This year is, unfortunately, different."
"The Egyptian harvest is 20-30% larger than last year. It's mostly dominated by the smaller 72/80/88/100/113/125 sizes. These make up 70-80% of the crop. There are far fewer larger 42/48/56/64 grades. It's been a very tough start, especially for the 'juicing sizes'," says the importer.
"We really need the hospitality industry for smoother sales. We're missing out on those because of the COVID-19 measures. The small fruits are, therefore, priced low this year too. The larger sizes are selling for acceptable prices."
Egypt is the world's largest orange exporter. So, they have plenty of outlets. At the beginning of the season, some markets didn't or hardly participated. That's changed now. We, therefore, hope that means fewer smaller sizes will come to Europe. Then these grades' prices will improve a little," Joey concludes.
For more information:
Joey Deen
Denimpex
10 Sint Antoniesbreestraat
1011 HB, Amsterdam, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 206 246 390
Email: joey@denimpex.nl
Website: www.denimpex.nl