By Mark Greenberg
US: Clementine market remains in doldrums
The clementine market in all regions of the United States remains in the doldrums with retailers claiming that clementine movement at store level is down 20 – 25%. Add to this the fact that through Week 30, Chilean shippers loaded almost 31 000 metric tons of clementines and mandarins to the USA or almost 22% more than last year and 46% more to the east coast. In addition, South African shippers have also loaded more clementines this season than they did last. Finally, the season has been rendered more challenging by shipping delays that have caused fruit to arrive in surges, often many days later than anticipated. All of this has conspired to produce inventories that are higher than desirable in these summer citrus selling dog-days and, consequently, a soft market.
Through Week 31, clementine prices on the east coast have hovered in the US$ 20 –
24 selling price for fruit sold in value-added packages, returning US$ 16 – 20 selling
price after re-pack and associated costs are backed-out. Small caliber fruit is getting the lower end of this range and perhaps below it on size 5’s. Size 6’s cannot be given away.
On the west coast, clementines in the value-added package have been moving at US$ 22 – 24 for sizes 2 and 3 and at US$ 21 – 23 for sizes 4 and 5.
In all cases, the ultimate return to the grower on the original arriving 15 kg case will be heavily affected by losses incurred during the re-configuration process.
After Week 30 clementine loadings from Chile are expected to decline as the
traditional Nules harvest winds down. As well, no substantial volume of South African
summer clementines are expected. So we anticipate that easy-peeler volumes arriving in the USA in Weeks 33 – 35 should be relatively light with only the last of the Chilean Nules and the Peruvian W. Murcotts expected to arrive. This should firm the market up in the last two weeks of August as sellers move through the last of their clementine inventories.
The gap in supply, though, will be short-lived as Chilean late mandarins are maturing
earlier than last season. Chilean producers will begin to transition into late mandarins
(Fortunas and W. Murcotts) in the coming weeks with those volumes likely to start
shipping in earnest in Week 33 and onward with arrivals starting just in time for Labor
Day. We expect to see more enthusiastic demand for citrus generally and easypeelers specifically.
Navel Oranges:
California navel orange producers have succeeded in convincing some retailers to allow them to turn what most had reasonably expected to be an early-July switch to
imported navels into a mid-August switch. This, combined with a solid pattern of navel arrivals from South Africa, and with Chilean navel volumes that through Week 30 are running over 31% higher than last season, has created an over-loaded market and has left shippers and receivers a little on edge and, in some cases, running for cover. With a number of receivers making little secret of the fact that they have more fruit than they have customers for it, the navel orange market is soft and inventories are higher than desirable.
On the east coast South African and Chilean navel orange prices (and movement) are down from our last report two weeks ago. Through Week 31, 40’s, 48’s and 56’s are selling in the US$ 22 – 26 range (mostly US$ 24), 64’s are at US$ 20 – 22, 72’s are at US$ 18 – 20 and 88’s are at US$ 18. West coast pricing is at the same level or, perhaps, a shade stronger.
It is going to take a few weeks for navel orange inventories to get back into line and
for the market to firm-up. But we are anticipating faster product movement as we
move deeper into August. Of course, once all chains move away from product such as the pathetic display of oranges pictured below that were seen last Friday evening at a highly-regarded retail chain in northeastern USA (serving New England, specifically), the faster will market dynamics improve.
Minneolas:
The Peruvian Minneola market is, of course, getting caught up in the generally weak
citrus market. Today, Minneolas are selling at US$ 14 - 15 on standard sizes but at a
slow pace. Premium product is going at US$ 15 – 16. But there are brokers in the
market already selling at US$ 13.50. While we try to think positively, we are
concerned that the shear volume of available citrus will have an impact on Minneola
pricing, at least for the next two to three weeks when substantial Minneola volumes
are expected to hit the US market.