The supply of Spanish stone fruit is still not abundant and import demand is taking off as temperatures gradually rise in central and northern Europe. In view of this situation, there are some problems at the moment to meet all the orders, according to Clasol's manager, César Claramonte.
"So far, the quantities of stone fruit available have been limited, which has gone hand in hand with a quiet demand. However, the situation has completely changed and the demand is now rising above the supply, as the arrival of warmer and sunnier weather in northern European countries is causing summer fruit consumption to take off. We are having problems to cope with all the orders we are receiving."
"It should be recalled that, at this time, most of the stone fruit comes from Murcia, where the extra-early production has been reduced due to some frosts in March, as well as hit by hail in some areas of Águilas, which has affected us directly, as the fruit was ready to be picked," says César Claramonte.
"Meanwhile, Huelva is also currently producing, although it is already finishing, while Badajoz is still starting up with very few volumes, and there is still no presence of Greek and Italian fruit," he says.
According to Clasol's manager, in about 10 days there will be much more supply, so there should be no problem to meet all the demand. "However, we are not managing to keep the prices at origin up at destination, something that should not happen, considering that the supply is barely covering all orders. In general, the fruit has a higher quality than last season in terms of Brix degrees and flavor, although there is a predominance of small sizes due to the drought."
The company has its own production, handling and packing plant in Murcia for its stone fruit campaign. At the moment it has apricots, peaches, nectarines and flat peaches, and in a few days it will also have plums. Within a month it will also start working with the harvest from Lleida, where they have agreements with growers who, for now, unlike many other locations, have not been affected by the cuts in irrigation allocations caused by the extreme drought."
For more information:
César Claramonte
CLASOL
T: +34 964585947
M: +34 634137441
cesar@clasol.com
clasol.com/