The market for Turkish lemons is the complete opposite of last year. “Last year we did a great many Turkish lemons, and this year we barely had a few containers,” says Marcel van der Welle from Van Ooijen Citrus. “The market was empty then, and relatively little Spanish product was available. The end of the previous overseas season was completely different, this year there was plenty of overseas trade, well into September-October, and there was also plenty of Spanish product available.”
“Next week we start with Turkish minneolas from Hasat. A nice brand, good presentation and superb quality. Egypt and Israel are always two of Turkey’s competitors. Israel is fortunate enough to enter an empty market with their minneolas a few weeks early, and profited from good prices. Egypt is a relatively small player on the minneola market, besides Turkey, and volume has been decreasing for years. In Egypt, they are focusing increasingly on Valencias, which is a relatively easy cultivation,” Marcel continues. “We expect to offer Turkish minneolas in the months of January and February, and then switch to the USA.”