"We hope the citrus market will improve in December"

According to the producer and exporter, the first three weeks were good in terms of sales and prices for Spanish oranges, although as more product has been hitting the market, the supply has gradually started exceeding the demand and prices have plummeted, due mainly to the impact of the weather, both at origin and destination.

"With the good quality of the citrus fruit this year, we had very good prospects at first, but the prices have now hit rock bottom. A lot of fruit has been harvested and logically must be brought to the market in the shortest possible time," explains manager Víctor Vercher. "We hope that, as has happened in previous campaigns, the situation will improve in December," he added.

Frutas Vercher is celebrating its 50th anniversary. In the 60's, growers José and Víctor Vercher decided to sell their citrus fruits and vegetables in the domestic market by themselves and opened a small store of just 200 square metres in Benifairó de Valldigna, Valencia. At present, their four children are at the head of this company, which will be handed over to a third generation. It currently owns a 7,000 m2 warehouse which handles about 28,000 tonnes of oranges, clementines and lemons, 25% of which are produced by the company itself.

"We started working only with citrus fruits in the domestic market and about 20 years ago we took the step of shipping the first exports. Nowadays, we supply oranges, mandarins and lemons all year round with our production in Spain and imports from South America and South Africa in winter," explains Víctor Vercher.

The Valencian company exports mainly to France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavian countries and recently, since the closing of the Russian market, it has been gaining presence in supermarket chains and wholesale markets in Brazil and the United Arab Emirates.

"We have recently set up a state-of-the-art line for the processing and packaging of the fruit from Sorma Group. We have acquired a 6 line electronic calibrator that will sort the fruit by calibre, weight, colour and external quality and that will allow us not only to grow in volume, but also in terms of efficiency. Moreover, we count with specific quality standards (IFS, GlobalGap, SA800), and are able to meet the specific requirements of our customers," affirms Víctor Vercher.

"We have also recently become involved in a line of mandarins and oranges with leaf. It is a new market for us which is growing in countries like France, Germany and Spain."