The agricultural organization Asaja Cordoba reported the start of the activity at the Lonja de Cítricos (Citrus Market) after the start of the orange harvest. This campaign, there are great concerns regarding the increase in production costs and the alarming situation of irrigation, which is essential for citrus cultivation, so the sector is facing the beginning of the campaign with great uncertainty.
This first meeting also served to make an assessment of the season's prospects, in which the production is expected to by similar or even lower due to the shortage of high calibers as a result of the weather conditions. Prices are falling by 26% compared to those of last year.
The price monitoring table of the Lonja de Cítricos has set that of Navelina oranges at between 0.15 and 0.20 €/kg for the first class, based on the operations carried out in recent weeks. These are lower than the prices reached at the beginning of last year's campaign, when they stood at 0.24-0.27 €/kg for the same variety. The higher prices correspond to the large sizes, which are scarcer this year due to the weather conditions and for which there is a greater demand right now.
The Salustiana variety has not been priced yet, since, although some operations have already been carried out, more activity is expected for this variety in the coming weeks.
It is worth noting that, adhering to the recommendations of the Government of Andalusia, the Lonja did not start its activity earlier. This is also consistent with the advice of the sector itself, which aims to prevent the harvest of unripe oranges.