The market for early South African citrus fruits is not yet very active, observes Edwin Wolf of the Rotterdam-based company Origin Fruit Group. “Meanwhile, supply is starting to improve, after South Africa was continuously behind schedule for a long period. We noticed this in particular for lemons, large volumes of which were still in stock from Spain. But today, volumes are circulating more. »
He observes an opposite situation on the grapefruit market. “There, the supply at the beginning of the season started smoothly with large volumes, but this market is now declining and the supply is also ending earlier. Sales of early mandarins are also moderate. »
“The season started with average quality satsumas and there is also very little demand for clementine-type varieties. Demand is more focused on strong varieties such as Nova and Leanri and some customers are already asking for Nadorcott, but they are still in short supply.”
Europe’s supply of South African oranges is also significantly behind schedule. “So far, shipments to Europe have decreased by 50 percent compared to last year, which was also not a very good year,” observes Wolf. “South African producers have anticipated the large volumes coming from Egypt, but more importantly, they have no need to export due to the high juice prices paid in the local market. These prices are currently higher than what we can pay in Europe. »
“Normally, Brazil is the main supplier to the fruit juice industry, but its harvest was poor, so demand is now met by Egypt and South Africa. We anticipate these shortages could continue for another two years. Currently, Europe still has Egyptian oranges, but they are largely covered by the programs. I don’t expect anyone to care about selling these products. »
“As far as South Africa is concerned, it is quite possible to send large volumes. The prices for South African Navels are between €15 and €17 and for Valencias are around €18-19, which is more than double what we still receive from Egypt,” Wolf continues. “Only the weather in Europe is not cooperating yet. First the rain led to low demand and now the heat would limit sales again. Fortunately, there are always exceptions. For example, lime prices have started to rise again.”
For more informationions :
Edwin Wolf
Origin Fruit Group
[email protected]
www.originfruitgroup.com
