The grapefruit season has already started in Spain's main production areas, with a drop in production compared to last season, and with good marketing prospects in view of the lower harvest in Turkey, the main competitor for Spanish grapefruit.
"We started harvesting grapefruit in the last week of September, earlier than usual, because the fruit was already showing good levels of ripeness, juice, and color. So we sold the first batches on October 1," says Miguel Barber, from Pomelos MBC.
© Joel Pitarch | FreshPlaza.com
"Although there are disparities in the official estimates provided by different organizations, those of us who work in the field can see that Spain's production will be smaller than announced and could be around 15-20% lower than last year's," says Barber. "The yields in the more mature plantations are clearly lower, and it is certainly difficult to say whether the new plantations, with a substantially lower production rate, could make up for this," he says.
"We have started the season with good sales. In the first week of October, there were still some batches of South African grapefruit, but at the moment, there is hardly any production left from this country, and Spain already dominates the markets," says Barber.
"The demand for Israeli grapefruit in some European countries has been affected by the conflict in Gaza, and this is working in our favor. Besides, the production of our main competitor, Turkey, is expected to fall by around 50%, so we should have a good season at a commercial level," says the grower and trader.
Grapefruit prices at the source are becoming more expensive due to lower availability. "Selling prices are also higher because production costs have risen considerably in recent years," says Miguel Barber.
Pomelos MBC marketed a total of 17.5 million kilos of national grapefruit during the 2024/2025 season, as well as 1.9 million kilos of South African grapefruit during the off-season. Next week, they will start with the special Sweetie variety of grapefruit, which is only available for two months.
For the last four years, they have also been selling Chinese pomelo, of which they are already handling around 400,000 kilos, and recently they have just opened a new line for Brazilian limes to supply the product all year round. "We have expanded our packing plant because this season we hope to continue to grow in terms of volume, at the request of our clients," says Miguel Barber.
For more information:
Miguel Barber
Pomelos MBC
Avinguda de l'Estatut, 5 . P. I. Les Vinyes
46711 Miramar, Valencia. Spain
Tel.: +34 962 81 91 08
[email protected]
www.pomelosmbc.es
