Spain: It is impossible to keep orange prices as high as needed in Europe

The first part of the Spanish citrus season has been marked by the substantially lower production volumes of mandarins and oranges in the Region of Valencia, while in Andalusia, the production has remained similar to that of 2016/2017.

Although prices at origin were already very high in the first half of the campaign, speculation about a possible shortage of goods intended for distant markets in the second part has led to prices rising to a level which makes marketing the product in Europe impossible. In fact, the abundant rainfall recorded in Andalusia over the last three weeks, which brought the harvest to a halt, has saved the market from a significant oversupply of oranges, which would have made it impossible to market the fruit at such high prices.

The export of citrus fruits to third countries has been growing significantly in recent years, especially in Asia; so much so, that these destinations have started playing a key role in terms of marketing during the second part of the Spanish citrus campaign.

"Markets such as China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Australia, Brazil or Canada, among others, are essential for Spanish exporters, as they allow them to take goods to the market while decongesting the European market," explains Alejandro Peiró, manager of the Valencian company Peiró Camaró, to FreshPlaza. "Orange shipments to China have doubled compared to last year, going from about 20,000 tonnes to around 40,000 tonnes," he added.

Recently, China has also started to import Egyptian oranges because of their low price, although they are not being highly appreciated by Chinese importers at the moment because of their quality. "Spain can only differentiate itself in the Chinese market by shipping good quality oranges, because if it does not do a good job, it will compete directly with Egyptian oranges, and that could be disastrous for Spanish exporters because of the difference in prices," says Alejandro Peiró.

In any case, even though China and other third markets appreciate the quality of the goods, the exporter says that "the exorbitant prices that have been paid at origin have been making things a lot more difficult."

For more information: