The citrus prices report of the Consulate of the Lonja de València for the 2021/2022 season, published this week by the Chamber of Commerce, shows the strong collapse in citrus prices at origin there's been this season in the Valencian Community.
This decrease in prices at source, which for some varieties is up to 50% lower than in the previous marketing year, is due to the decline in consumption in Europe or competition from the fruit of other origins; however, it doesn't justify that producers have been paid less than 10 cents per kilo, which amount's to half of the production costs. Something that, it's worth noting, is forbidden by the Chain Law.
Navelina minimum and maximum prices at origin went from ranging 2.2-3.6 euro per arroba (about 13 kilograms) to only 0.9-1.8 euro, according to the aforementioned study. Meanwhile, Navel orange prices have gone from 2.4-3.3 euro in 2021 to 1.2-2.4 euro in 2022. The value of the Lane-late has also collapsed by half, going from 2.4-3.0 euro per arroba to 1.2-1.8 euro, and the Powell variety has lost 45% of its value, going from 2.4-3.6 euro per arroba to 1.5-2.4 euro.
The prices paid to citrus growers in the fields have been very low and in the case of Valencian citrus growers, revenues fall by 30%, which means that stopped perceiving almost 400 million euro this season compared to the previous campaign.
Star mandarin prices plummet
The only varieties that have remained stable or even superior compared to the previous campaign are some classic mandarins, such as the clementines in their different most widespread sub-varieties: Oronules, Marisol, and Clemenules. However, the prices of the mandarins in the second part of the campaign, such as the Hernandines, decreased by 30% over the previous campaign standing at 2.7-3.3 euro per arroba.
The plunging prices of the star varieties of this second part of the campaign are striking. The Tango have gone from 8.3-9.5 to 4.4-6.3 euro and the Nadorcott from 7.6-9.5 to 4.4-6.4 euro.
Since the prices of oranges for this campaign are below production costs, the agricultural organizations have asked the Food Information and Control Agency (AICA) to investigate whether there has been a breach of the Agri-Food Chain Law.
Source: levante-emv.com