There's going to be a significant reduction in the production of stone fruits in Portugal, says Tomás Ferreira, Company Director for Portuguese fruit exporter Granfer: "A lack of ideal cold and hailstorms has characterised our spring. The humid spring conditions have also delayed the stone fruit season by 10 to 14 days and increased the risk of phytosanitary hazards. The volumes have fallen dramatically. We are talking about a reduction of between 30 and 45% at best. It's also important to bear in mind that we have made significant investments to improve resilience to hail and frost, and that our producers are experiencing similar or worse losses."
© Granfer
It should come as no surprise that less availability means stronger demand for the stone fruits, which helped Granfer, Ferreira explains. "The lack of volumes has led to high demand for the stone fruits. As such, we are reaping the benefits of investment projects that started five years ago, namely our focus on and specialisation in the stone fruit category, our positioning as a key player in this category in Portugal and Europe, and our continuous investment in quality, differentiation, and client service."
© Granfer
For the stone fruit campaign as a whole, Ferreira emphasizes the ambition to reach more markets in Eastern Europe this year: "Our current main markets are found in Europe and the Americas. Simultaneously, we're trialling a few new markets in Eastern Europe and developing local markets in key South American cities. We're also consolidating supply lines with strategic partners in Western Europe. Fortunately, our efforts are paying off, as we have remained true to our path, and also thanks to our strategic partners and clients, we have continued to invest in stone fruits at a time when there was an oversupply."
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Prices for stone fruits have increased, which Ferreira says can be attributed to the lower production for several main varieties of stone fruits. "The prices are superior to last year's prices, but not enough to make up for losses. Especially considering the reduction in production that I mentioned earlier, despite the fact that we have included new areas, which should be more productive as they are reaching maturity. This means that some varieties have been even more significantly affected. For example, there has been a 77% reduction in Extreme 6 red peaches, a 57% reduction in Contesa flat peaches, a 47% reduction in Atanais nectarines, and a 56% reduction in Black Splendour plums."
© Granfer
"We love stone fruits and believe in ensuring customer satisfaction. However, as growers, we need to find ways to increase resilience and secure investment and support from more clients, because the current decrease is due to growers aging and underinvestment in the sector. We need to create incentives for this industry or risk deteriorating further. We're very positive about the stone fruit season, but we clearly have many challenges ahead," Ferreira concludes.
For more information:
Tomás Ferreira
Granfer
Tel: +351 910 200 993
Email: [email protected]
www.granfer.pt
