The citrus harvest season is significantly advanced as a result of the high temperatures registered up until now, as temperatures this week have still exceeded 20 degrees in the main Spanish producing areas.
Thus, the Navel harvest started 15 days earlier than in the previous campaign, with prices ranging between 18 and 25 cents per kilo in the Lonja of Valencia, since the Navelinas, which stand between 14 and 18 cents per kilo, are already running out.
With regard to late clementines and mandarins, the marketing of the Clemenules and Orogrande has also concluded earlier than usual, leaving their place to Clemenvillas and Hernandinas, which can already be found in the market. The Clemenvilla is trading at an average of 30 cents per kilo at origin, while the Hernandina exceeds 50 cents, depending on the quality.
Although there are hardly any operations with late mandarin varieties confirmed, in Brussels there are already Spanish Nadorcotts at very high prices. Given the low availability of fruit this season and the good quality of the late varieties compared to the early and mid-season ones, the sector expects much higher prices than last season for the Nadorcott Orri, Fortune and Tango, as long as the weather doesn't cause any setbacks.
In any case, it appears that there will be a drop in temperatures in the coming days which the sector hopes will last, as the lack of cold, besides affecting the quality of citrus this year, has also caused consumption in Europe to drop compared to the same period of previous campaigns.