The prices of Andalusian oranges in the 2016/2017 season, which citrus growers consider almost completed, have been 20 percent higher than in the previous year, with an average of 0.29 Euro per kilo, compared to the 0.23 Euro of 2015/2016.
The increase, according to the latest report of the Prices Observatory of the Council of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development of Andalusia, is of more than 40% compared to the 2014/2015 campaign, when average prices stood at €0.16 per kilo.
Although growers have benefited from an overall increase in the price of oranges this season, the drop in the production volume, the extent of which has yet to be determined, together with a reduction in the fruit calibre, entails that the revenues generated "have not been as encouraging as expected," explains the report.
In the case of sweet oranges, which account for 75 percent of the Andalusian citrus production, the harvest was forecast to exceed 1.5 million tonnes at the beginning of the campaign.
The producers of Andalusian oranges started the campaign last October with a delay of up to 20 days in some areas compared to the normal production cycle, and also with smaller calibres than normal.
This was mainly due to the rainfall recorded in May 2016, which caused the fall of flowers from the first bloom; therefore, the fruit setting comes from the second and third blooms.
Also, the high temperatures recorded in spring and summer contributed to a greater percentage of the fruit harvested having a smaller calibre.
Source: EFE
