Farmers in Castellón initiate the clemenules campaign (one of the late varieties) with good prospects. This has helped moderate input of the fruits in the market, because this situation has made it possible to keep good prices that are being recorded from late September.
The general secretary of the Unio of Llauradors i Ramaders, Ramon Mampel,
noted that "retailers, consumers and markets are gradually seeking color and quality color above quantity and the flow is slow, so prices will endure."
Farmers in Castellón charge on average 0.21 Euro kg of clemenules, while they try to keep it about 0.30 Euro for other varieties like Oronules. "Even the early varieties like Marisol, have endured quite well this year and have maintained a good rating," explained Mampel.
Thus, although the bulk of the season is still to come, in the field everything is a little more calm after a disastrous year in which prices plummeted and all the factors allied against it. In fact, the secretary of the Unió said that "in addition to the economic crisis we were very hurt by weather, because while this year the rains have benefited the fruit, last fall there were ten straight days of rain that prevented harvester entering the fields and then all that production burst into the market, causing a large excess supply and causing prices to fall."
By contrast, the rains of these recent weeks have been pretty spaced and harvesting has been able to continue its usual course, and "although the strong winds of the last few days have caused some chafing in fruits, especially in the fields north of the province, there hasn't been considerable damage. And the rest is covered by the insurance company."
For now, citrus growers face this season with hope. The province has cut production by 20 to 30 percent. "Last year production was very strong and this year the trees have rested. In the context of the Comunitat the measure is smaller, about 5 percent counting tangerines and oranges. However, in Castellón, where the largest number of clementines fields are located, a significant drop has been seen," explained the representative of Unió of Llauradors, reiterating that this scarcity in the offer will help this campaign to maintain good valuation of fruit of which there quality is highlighted.
Most of the production will be for export, where they will try to keep the same figures as last year. "Only 25 percent of oranges and clementines in the Comunitat are for the domestic market, while the rest is destined for the U.S., Europe or China and other emerging countries." Here, of course, they also run into the problem of other exporting countries, such as Morocco, whose import is regulated by the new
European Union treaty. "We only ask for the agreement to be fulfilled and for quotas and the number of tons entering to be monitored, and for all food safety standards to be applied, at least those that are required from us," concluded Mampel.
source: Lasprovincias