Apifood is about to finish its grape campaign, and the company is now starting the Rocha pear and citrus fruit season. “This year, we will finish the campaign in March because we have approximately 40% of a normal harvest. Due to the lack of volumes, the Rocha pear is sold at relatively high prices in Portugal, which makes trade difficult in a context where other countries are quite productive this year,” explains Eric Tastayre, director of Apifood. This year’s harvest is also characterized by small calibers and a great taste quality. “Sugar levels have rarely been as high as they are this year,” according to Eric.
Growing demand for juicing oranges
The same is true for the citrus fruits this year, with limited volumes due to the drought, but a high Brix degree. Luckily, Apifood is able to offer oranges all year round, which are the company’s flagship product. “We start the season with the Newhall variety, followed by the Navelate, Lanelate, and finally the Valencia Late. We have observed a growing demand for juicing oranges. Ten years ago, the Portuguese citrus fruits were still relatively unknown, but they have certainly gained in popularity in recent years. Many consumers appreciate their consistent taste quality and their healthy cultivation method. Our oranges are available nearly every month of the year, a regularity which is an important criterion for many of our clients.”
Towards larger volumes of leafy clementines
Within its range of citrus fruit, Apifood is also offering leafy clementines for the second year. “They will arrive very soon. It will be a relatively small harvest because the orchards are still young, but their taste is excellent. Our supply is not regular yet. Within 3 years, the production will have grown and we will then be able to offer more regularity to our clients. The quality is already good so we are just waiting for our production to increase! The objective is to develop the leafy clementines in the same way we developed our leafy oranges.”
A very nice grape season coming to an end
There will still be some Chasselas grapes available until the end of year, to finish off a rather successful grape season. “In terms of quantity, the season was decent and the quality was really exceptional. The lack of rain this summer helped the varieties hold well and the large amount of sunshine led to very high sugar levels. Trade was a little more complicated for the Chasselas variety because the supply was a lot larger than in previous years, but we will definitely manage to sell all our volumes by the end of the year.”
For more information:
Eric Tastayre
Apifood
Bâtiment administratif
Marché Gare
82030 Montauban
Phone: +33 5 63 20 22 50
Mobile: +33 6 07 59 03 75
eric@apifood.com
apifood.com