“The general balance of the citrus campaign Until February it can be considered as positive, although the expectations of the sector have not been met after the good performance of the previous one, which was marked by the onset of the pandemic and in which there was an increase in demand for these fruits due to their vitamin C content and its health benefits ”. Thus begins the analysis on the citrus season prepared by Roberto García Torrente, director of Agrifood Innovation of Cajamar, and the technicians of said area Ana Cabrera and Tomás Agüera and published in the Terra Platform of the entity, which highlights the high production of these products, with the forecast of exceeding 7 million tons nationwide, “an unusual figure that represents 12% more than the previous season, in part due to the vecero nature of some varieties.”
As a result of the high production, in the balance it is pointed out that, together with the scarce rainfall in summer and autumn, a large volume of small-caliber fruit has been obtained, which has had an impact on the prices obtained. “It is important to note in this sense that low caliber occurs more in little modernized farms and that they do not allow an optimized management of irrigation and fertilization.”
Refering to price evolution at source, the columnists point out that they were very high during the first weeks of the campaign, causing the trading companies to opt for a policy of prudence, buying only the fruit necessary in the short term to see how the consumer markets behaved. “Later, in November and December, prices fell and then recovered in January.” According to what is exposed in the balance, the behavior of the prices illustrates one of the weaknesses of the Spanish citrus sector: the strong concentration of the main varieties of orange and mandarin during a few weeks. “Despite this, we can make a positive balance of the quotes at source to date.”
Regarding the evolution of foreign trade, analysts point out that for citrus as a whole it has been positive during the first months of the season (until January 2021), with an increase in exports of 4.8% in volume and 5.8% in value. However, the export value has been somewhat lower than the previous season in November and December as a result of the greater supply of product in those months.
Challenges to grow: modernize farms, diversify varieties and open markets
Despite this global analysis, not all citrus fruits have behaved the same. Facing the second part of the citrus campaign “The forecast is positive in orange and mandarin, maintaining the balance reached between supply and demand and encouraged by higher calibers in late varieties. An improvement in the lemon campaign is also foreseeable as a result of a certain contraction in supply in the coming weeks, a higher quality of verna lemon and the gradual recovery of the market for the Horeca channel as the accumulated incidence of COVID-19 decreases. and advancing the level of vaccination ”.
In the balance prepared by Cajamar, the head of Agrifood Innovation and the two technicians state that the sector could minimize market fluctuations with measures such as investment in the modernization of farms to avoid situations of excess of small sizes or the diversification of varieties to reduce the accumulation of production in the central months of the season and supply the markets for a longer time.
Regarding foreign trade, analysts point out that it would also be favorable search for new markets outside Europe, which would allow the sector to diversify risks and at the same time further increase international marketing. Along these lines, the balance mentions markets with great potential and in which a slight increase is observed, although with quantities that are still very unrepresentative: China, Canada or some countries of the Persian Gulf such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates or Qatar are large markets. potential and in which a slight growth has been observed. “There is also a timid increase in exports to Brazil and South Africa, which, if well managed, could be the beginning of an off-season offer for these countries.” The temporary elimination of the tariffs imposed by the United States presents another opportunity for the citrus sector, especially for the mandarin, as indicated.
