Yucatan has marketed more than a thousand tons of citrus fruit in the first weeks of this year because of the high demand in the markets in Mexico City, Veracruz, Campeche and Quintana Roo.
The President of the Association of Citrus Producers of Saclum, Marcos Jose Interian Villafaña, said they were selling late oranges, Persian limes, grapefruit and Tangerines, and that this trend was recently focusing on the products from Yucatan that had very high levels of health, watering and care.
"In recent weeks, the citrus buyers from other states in the country have become more interested in the products from Yucatan because Yucatan has the late Valencia orange, which has an irrigation system that helps it last longer in the trees so it can be marketed more," he added.
He said that the early varieties of Valencia oranges fell off the trees when they matured, reducing the length of time to negotiate sales.
Marcos Jose Interian added that the late Valencia orange obtained the best prices and that buyers from other States had even purchased more than a thousand tons from Sacalum, Dzan, Ticul, and Oxkutzcab in recent weeks.
"The advantage is that the buyers from other States are acquiring the product directly from the producers in the orchards and that they immediately pay," he said.
He stated that the late orange varieties cost $2,500 pesos per ton for the foreign buyers. Local buyers, for example Akil's Juicing Company, only pay $1,200 pesos per ton.
"It is currently very profitable to sell the fresh citrus directly from the orchards. Producers are getting paid better." Irrigation systems are very important for producers because this allows the citrus to last longer and they can wait for better prices," he said.
According to Interian, buyers from other States use the citrus for marketing in other cities.
Source: Sipse.com