This season’s supplies of navel oranges out of California is limited.
“Last season, the weather and growing conditions for California navel oranges resulted in a longer season, taking us through most of August. Any time we have a long season, it is usually followed by a shorter season due to the trees being “tired” and not having the energy to produce a normal bloom in the corresponding Spring. So this season, the California crop is expected to wrap up around mid-June,” says Adam Lazo, Senior Director of Sales with Central-Valley, CA-based Wonderful Citrus.
Navel oranges are currently coming from the Central Valley of California and imports will supplement the supply from South Africa and Chile through Philadelphia ports starting in July. “There might be a slight overlap towards the end of October/first part of November as the California crop starts up again and South Africa and Chile imports wrap up,” says Lazo.
Meanwhile, this limited crop is seeing steady demand across U.S. markets. Demand in Canada is being met by imported Moroccan navels.
Logistics challenges Asian demand
“We’re seeing a decent amount of navel demand from Japan, China and Korea but the port delays and logistical challenges continue to cap its real potential,” says Lazo. “Sadly, we do not expect there to be significant improvements within the immediate future, but this is definitely a market we are keeping an eye on.”
Overall, the navel category has stabilized now at roughly 20-22 percent of the consumer’s citrus basket versus 10 years ago when that figure sat at 40 percent. There are no expectations for the current share of basket to change over the next two to three years.
“We are starting to see more consumer demand for the navel’s cousin, Cara Caras,” says Lazo. “This, for the most part, is being driven by flavor and consumer’s attraction to red/pink flesh citrus. While not new to the category, the overall awareness is growing.”
Supplying navels out of California is met with challenges such as water and labor--two factors Lazo says are the biggest obstacles facing California navel oranges. “Water has become quite costly, and many navel ranches do not have adequate long-term water supply,” says Lazo.
As for pricing, the limited supplies have been the main contributor to increased pricing. “When comparing to last season, 40-lb navel cases are up $5 to $6, which is fair considering the supply limitations,” says Lazo. “As many of the smaller growers and shippers finish up the season and supply continues to decrease, we expect to see further price increases in the navel market over the next 75 days.”
For more information:
Lauren Cleaner
Wonderful Citrus
lauren.cleaner@wonderful.com
https://www.wonderfulcitrus.com/