According to ASAJA-Almeria, the last citrus campaign was terrible. "It was the worst campaign of the last 5 seasons, mainly for oranges and lemons."
"In the 2021-2022 campaign, citrus producers achieved the worst prices in recent years. Orange prices, for example, stood at just 15 cents, i.e. 42% below the last campaign and 37% lower than the average of the last 5 years."
"Since the beginning of the citrus campaign, there was a lack of movement in the market, little demand, strong presence of productions from other countries, and very low prices. All of this happened as irrigation, fertilizer, and diesel costs increased, which made things harder for producers. The current campaign has had a bitter end due to the lack of profitability."
"Orange prices had the worst fall and remained for many months below 15 cents on average, a derisory amount," stated Adoracion Blanque, President of ASAJA-Almeria.
Despite the comeback experienced during April and May, to date, lemon prices stood at just 29 cents on average, the lowest price in recent years and 23% lower than the average of the last 5 seasons. "The lemon campaign had very complicated moments, one of the worst starts in recent years, and much lower prices than usual that in the first quarter of the year when they didn't even reach 20 cents/kg and were 41% below the usual prices."
Mandarin fared somewhat better, but in the end, its average price was 16% lower than in the previous campaign and almost 10% lower than in the last 5 years.
This crop, which was affected by the increase in costs, was also affected by rain and weather that slowed down production that had already begun late due to high temperatures.
According to ASAJA, the bad results of the campaign are mainly due to the lack of demand, which was enhanced by the strong presence of products from competing countries that have been doing a lot of damage to the citrus sector. The association called on the government to take action on these imports. "It's not just a commercial threat, they could also be a gateway for the arrival of pests and diseases. Europe should rethink its commercial policy," the representative of ASAJA-Almeria added.
For more information:
ASAJA-AlmerÃa
https://asajaalmeria.org