This year's campaign for Spanish citrus fruit destined for the French market has been a turbulent one, due to the weather and increased international competition. Anecoop is tackling these challenges across the whole of Spain, thanks to a strategy of varietal renewal that has been underway for several years.
Clementines: a campaign that has been gathering momentum since December
The clementine season began in mid-September with the Clemensoon, an exclusive early variety developed by Anecoop and reserved for its growers. "We have been selling it for 9 years. It is our earliest clementine. The campaign only lasts 3 weeks, but it allows us to open the lines and launch the season before our competitors, with a quality fruit and a juicy pulp (a characteristic often found in early varieties)," explains Andreu Mir, sales director of Anecoop France.
While the season got off to a good start, it proved more complicated in October and November. "These 2 months were particularly difficult for citrus fruit, as we had to contend with a lot of imported produce from the southern hemisphere, whose campaigns are getting longer and longer. Added to this was a lack of dynamism in sales due to relatively warm temperatures. Luckily, the cold weather has finally set in, so the campaign has gathered momentum in the last few weeks, and we are gradually making up for time lost at the start of the campaign. We are expecting a better season for the Clemenules, which will be available until the end of the year and will close the clementine season."
Mandarins: volumes picking up despite a general drop in Spain
The first Clemenvilla mandarins are now available. Quality may have been affected by the bad weather, but volumes are on target for this season. "The heavy rainfall in the orchards, followed by warm temperatures, meant that the product developed more quickly, requiring particularly rigorous sorting operations in order to maintain optimum quality for our clients. In Spain, on the other hand, we recorded a 15% loss in production of small citrus fruits, mainly due to climatic problems. But as far as we are concerned, our main production areas were relatively unaffected by this phenomenon. We are even expecting a 5% increase in volumes compared with last year in the second half of the season, thanks to the renewal of orchards in recent years with the Nadorcot, Tango, and Orri varieties."
Oranges: a later start and strong international pressure
For oranges, this year's campaign got off to a late start at the end of October. "Although oranges are less affected by quality problems than small citrus fruits, we are facing two major challenges this year. On the one hand, we have to contend with lower consumption due to high temperatures throughout Europe. On the other hand, we are faced with strong non-European competition, with origins such as South Africa present on the French market. This presence is clearly detrimental to European producers. This raises the question of whether it makes sense to have oranges from South Africa on the shelves at the height of the European season."
Anecoop is currently selling Navelina, a table orange, and Salustiana, a juice orange. "And for the festive season, we have other unusual varieties such as Cara Cara, an orange-skinned variety with pink pulp, and Navel Chocolat."
The company has also invested heavily in blood oranges. "We have had a major project in this segment for some years now. We have positioned ourselves on varieties like Tarocco, which are much more pigmented and have a very red juice, characteristics that consumers are looking for. We will exceed 2,000 tons of production this year, from orchards that are still young and will continue to increase in yield over the coming years."
Besides clementines, mandarins, and oranges, Anecoop also produces pomelos and lemons, which are very popular during the festive season, and which the cooperative produces all year round.
For more information:
Andreu Mir
Anecoop France
Phone: +33(0)4 68 68 38 38
[email protected]
www.anecoop.com
