The Observatory of Prices and Markets of the Junta de Andalucía's report on the citrus campaign in Andalusia corresponding to weeks 21 and 22 confirms the low demand for citrus fruit in the European market.
"Producers have had to carry out more treatments against the fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) because of the high temperatures in the fields and the delay in the citrus harvest." "There 's also a lack of workforce for the collection of citrus fruits in some production areas, due to the overlap with other agricultural campaigns, such as potatoes and other fruit trees, which pay workers a similar wage for less demanding work." It's worth noting that the mandarin campaign has already ended.
"The supply of fruit is high in the European market, which makes it difficult to market Andalusian citrus fruits. The price of orange continues to fall and the quality of the fruit is decreasing given the delay in harvesting and the high temperatures in the field," the report states. "The European market is saturated with citrus fruits from third countries and their destination is diverted from Russia to Europe; this is the case, for example, of fruit from Egypt or Turkey," the report adds.
Quotations
The price of oranges at origin has decreased by 69.2% compared to the average price recorded in week 22 of the 2016-2021 period. Meanwhile, the price of lemon has increased by 7.9% compared to the aforementioned average. Specifically, producers are being paid 0.11 euro/kilo of orange and 0.50 euro/kilo of lemon.
The average prices paid for the orange and lemon after leaving the processing plant in week 21 and week 22 stood at 0.42 euro/kilo and 0.75 euro/kilo, respectively.
Source: sevilla.abc.es