The situation of oranges this season has finally improved and prices are on the rise, but Castellon will hardly benefit from it. The whole sector agrees that the price increase recorded by the varieties that have yet to be harvested will not compensate for the "disastrous" Clemenules campaign, as stated by Fepac Vice President José Francisco Nebot. The president of the citrus association Asociex, Jorge García, goes even further and affirms that the Clemenules "are dead and this year there is no solution" for the producers.
The fact is that it is very rare to find a citrus grower in the province of Castellon who does not cultivate Clemenules and "there's no fix for the terrible season of the queen variety of Clementines, with low prices from the start and damage caused by two storms."
The head for citrus of La Unió, José Ramón Urbán, agrees and points out that the rise in prices will "barely serve to alleviate the situation of Castellon's growers, because the production of late varieties in the province is quite small. According to estimations from the Council of Agriculture for this year, the total production of clementines will amount to about 70,000 tonnes, barely one-sixth of the 437,500 tonnes that had been expected for the Clemenules alone.
The reason for the rise in prices (which is also not that spectacular), according to the Lonja de cítricos of Valencia, is precisely the impact of the weather. The two storms have shortened the Clemenules campaign and reduced the supply of fruit suitable for sale. That is why varieties such as the Hernandina, Ortanique, Orri or Nadorcott are recording higher prices than last year. Lane late oranges are also reaching better prices, with purchases even above 30 cents per kilo.
Source: elperiodicomediterraneo.com
