Given the increasingly unpredictable weather conditions and the higher incidence of pests, production is becoming more and more difficult, especially for organic crops, whose market prices have been catching up with those of conventional products over the years. In this context, organic citrus is struggling to continue to stand out and maintain its added value.
© Joel Pitarch | FreshPlaza.com
Alessandro Ottolini.
Alessandro Ortolini, Sales Manager of Naranjas Ché, a company based in the municipality of Canet d'en Berenguer, in the north of the province of Valencia, confirms it. For the last 25 years, the company has been exclusively devoted to the production and marketing of organic fruit, mainly citrus. It was one of the first companies to start selling fruit directly to consumers online, and over time, it has been diversifying its product range and marketing channels.
"We went from selling individual boxes to end consumers to reaching small and medium-sized distribution chains, and from selling oranges and mandarins to expanding into lemon, grapefruit, lime, and exotic citrus fruits, such as yuzu, kumquat, limequat, and bergamot, as well as avocados, and recently also peach, melon, and watermelon," says Alessandro Ottolini.
© Joel Pitarch | FreshPlaza.com
Organic oranges.
"At the moment, we are almost done with the mandarin season, which has been exceptionally short due to a smaller production in the Valencian Community. We are currently also in the middle of the transition from Primofiori lemons to the Verna, and we are heading towards the final stretch with other products, including the Lamb Hass avocado," says the Sales Manager of Naranjas Ché. "On a commercial level, the start of the season was marked by an imbalance between prices at the source and on the market, although these have been balancing out in the second half of the season."
"The truth is that, in recent seasons, we have been facing exceptionally adverse weather phenomena and a constant drop in production, something to which organic production is more vulnerable. At the same time, we are working to continue expanding our organic fruit business. In our case, it keeps growing every year, despite the challenges we are dealing with," says Alessandro.
© Joel Pitarch | FreshPlaza.com
Alessandro Ottolini and Cristina Palacios, Sales and Warehouse Managers at Naranjas Ché.
"In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a boom in organic fruit consumption because people became more aware of the fact that 'we had to take better care of ourselves' and be healthier, something that has always been linked to organic products. But following this boom, the war in Ukraine started, and inflation began to rise, so growth in the organic segment slowed down and consumption stagnated," he says.
"Today, a product being organic is no longer the only factor helping stand out in terms of value," says Alessandro. "The gap between the prices of conventional and organic citrus fruits is increasingly smaller, and managing to pass on the added value to buyers is one of the biggest challenges. Despite it still being a challenge for us, more value is given to the source in the organic market, and this is where we are placing more emphasis. Valencia has the reputation of being a quality citrus grower, but it has also possibly been one of the hardest hit in recent years because of its production being grown mostly in smallholdings and having to compete with other suppliers that play by different rules."
© Joel Pitarch | FreshPlaza.com
Organic Kumquat.
"Fortunately, our business continues to grow, with a constant search for new sales channels and diversification into more products, seeking to add value with the product's origin," says Alessandro Ottolini. "Besides being present in the domestic market, we export mainly to France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark. Lately, we have also been working to expand into Eastern countries, as we are already doing in Poland. Meanwhile, we also maintain B2C sales, which represent around 10-13% of our turnover."
For more information:
Alessandro Ottolini
Naranjas Ché
C. del Císcar, 53-55
46529 Canet d'en Berenguer. Valencia. Spain
Tel.: +34 963172344
Tel.: +34 613171260
[email protected]
www.chefruits.bio
