Citrus season ends in Spain

It's no secret that there was almost no profit in the last campaign. That, in fact, by the end of the campaign some farmers had almost to bring money to the cooperative instead of charging a reasonable value for their work and the costs, is something no one understands.

Meanwhile private exporters, with farmers practically giving away free of commission their "clemenules", are having positive results. Some are not getting anything at all. The citrus sector in Spain is without direction. Intercitrus is almost not operating at all. Many producers leave the business. Big citrus areas are being abandoned. One will have to wait and see which big companies are not in business any more when the new campaign starts, in September.

At the moment, buying directors in the German distribution visit their Spanish suppliers of citrus to plan the coming campaign. Some agricultural organizations have blamed German supermarkets for a long time, specially the Discounters, for the situation. It is certain that those supermarkets have, quite often, prices below the barrier, but the big problems for the Spanish citrus culture is at home. There's no strategy for cultivation or varieties, or have even organized a commerce concept.

It seems that the 2011/12 campaign will not only put some growers in the red, but also some cooperatives and private exporters.

Source: agronoticias