The province’s agricultural sector in general and the citrus sector in particular promised them happiness when they managed to increase exports significantly amid the pandemic. However, just two years later, all this has become just a mirage. And that’s what manufacturers they have a disastrous campaign As a result of a combination of factors, in which the war in Ukraine occupied a decisive place. The outbreak of war paralyzed exports to Eastern countriesand this has caused its main suppliers such as Turkey, Egypt, Israel and Morocco to divert their goods to the rest of the European market. Conclusion? 70% of the oranges and 20% of the Alicante mandarins from the second half of the season remained unharvested due to the impossibility of marketing. Economic loss of nearly 40 million euros.
José Vicente Andreu, president of Asaja Alicante and citrus producer, recalls that the campaign has already started badly due to the large presence in fruit markets from South Africa; It is currently commercialized. However, everything came to naught as a result of the war. “Due to the embargo imposed by the European Union, we can’t export to Russia, but we can’t also do those with their usual suppliers. Entry routes into the Soviet country itself, Belarus and Slovenia are not applicable because the war itself. Maritime traffic over the Black Sea is extremely difficult without going any further”. Therefore, Turkey, Egypt, Israel and Morocco have chosen to divert their sales to the rest of Europe at lower prices to sell their citrus fruits, causing real saturation where consumption cannot absorb the disproportionate supply.
This invasion left the citrus fruit of Alicante practically no way out, which can be seen in the crop fields. trees and fruit laden on the ground. And according to Asaja’s information, 70% of the oranges remained unharvested, which means losses of 98,000 tons and close to 30 million euros, while in the case of tangerines it represents 20 percent, or 15,600. tons and 9.36 million economic losses. “And all this—Andreu warns—without taking into account fees lost during collection or shipping, among other things. Finally, We may be talking about a GDP loss exceeding 70 million.“.
Luis Gómez, a producer from the La Murada region, regrets this. paid a little over 10 cents per kilo of orangesAgrees with Ángel García, another farmer from Orihuela, who criticizes allowing the fruit to enter the EU when production costs reach $30, fruit where the same requirements are not demanded as produced here.
Carles Peris, secretary general of La Unió, sees other factors beyond the war in Ukraine. decrease in consumption. “There has been a significant recovery in the pandemic – it points to – but then we went downhill until we were almost below it. The most worrying thing is that we are not able to open new markets outside of Europe.”
Source: Informacion
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