Asaja Alicante’s balance sheet quotes between citrus The general situation of the province and the sales operations in the current campaign do not inspire optimism.
After two years in lemon cultivation can barely cover production costs and negative balances Headed by José Vicente Andreu, the agricultural organization hoped that lemon farmers would be able to obtain it for the producers. breath Given a generalized low-production context throughout mediterranean bowcoupled with the significant drop in lemons TürkiyeOne of the main competitors in the Spanish market.
Unmet expectations
At the beginning of the campaign, expectations were good, prices were fairly stable. Its weight per tree is between 35 and 40 kuruş.
But the agricultural association explains that these are “similar to prices seven years ago, but now have very high production costs.” Prices in the area that continues with lemon varieties Good They drop, end at around 0.20 e/kg and are very successful.
Lemon verna He also noted prices that did not make up for the overall increase in inputs, but “we are confident that the market will rise in the coming weeks and origin prices will not be as low as Fino”.
low national and European consumption, driven by inflation, energy crisis, ukraine war And Citizens’ purchasing power has decreased. significantly affected low prices”, says José Vicente Andreu, president of the association and citrus producer in Vega Baja.
And gives the example Germanyour main customer, which significantly reduced the demand for this fruit by 20%.
Half the harvest is free
Another point that Asaja wants to underline is the unfair commercial practices that started to become widespread despite being banned by Turkey. Food Chain LawLike the destruction of the value where the large operators controlling the market always increase the percentage of destruction previously stated in the contract, which is normally around 3-5% of the total harvest.
The association states the following in this regard: Companies get up to 50% of the harvest as waste for free While they claim to be aimed at the citrus industry, they actually sell it on the international market as a second fresh product.
“Abuse”
This “abuse”, as Asaja-Alicante defines it, is alsol EU Regulation 543/2011and leaves the farmer in a situation of absolute vulnerability in terms of bargaining power and economic value.
In general, the agricultural union states that the lemon campaign closed with approximately one production. 800,000 tons, 40% less than the previous season and 20% less than the regular campaign. Regarding inclement weather, ASAJA Alicante explains that the lemon is a very sensitive fruit and extremely sensitive to changes in the weather. In fact, the hail recorded in this last DANA in May caused damage to citrus farms. Elche and Orihuela.
Drought
attribution drought And transfer cutting Tagus-Segura “Lack of water will be the most conditioning factor for the lemon crop, because if the water supply is complex the crop will suffer a lot. If we don’t have water in July or August it would be a disaster because then the citrus gets oily.
In case of insufficient irrigation, citrus fruits will be of poor quality, smaller caliber and less watery. This is the uncertainty of this year,” he concludes.
Asaja Alicante explains that with regard to oranges, prices go from less to more, with variety starting at around €0.25/0.30/kg. navelina and finished with 0.50 Powell and Valencia Late. However, he points out that despite the price increase, the decrease in production does not allow the reflection of the farmer’s profitability.
Finally, tangerines were the best performing citrus in terms of prices, with some varieties costing more than one euro per kilo. “As the campaign progresses, prices rise, thereby breaking the downward trend of previous years,” Andreu concludes.
organic citrus
Bad times for organic citrus Asaja Alicante regrets Organic citrus is sold cheaper in the field than conventional citrus, and 150% more expensive in the supermarket.
The sales monopoly of the big chains inflates the price of “PTO” products so much that it causes many consumers to choose not to buy them. This means that the supply is more than the demand and therefore the prices in the field decrease, while the big stores make discounts.
“Oranges are sold at prices ranging from 0.35 € to 0.40 € per kg, while organic oranges have been paid between 0.24 € and 0.27 € in recent weeks”, assures. To this we must add the inflationary context that European countries are going through, “reducing the consumption of organic lemons”.
Asaja Sector
Citrus activity is an important backbone of the region and has a direct impact on the community and economy of the region. Community of Valencia and province of Alicante.
For this reason, the association has officially renewed the citrus sector, whose main purpose is to comply with the legislation. Food Chain Lawcall on the national government to defend the sector Europepromoting the consumption of Valencian citrus fruits through the quality mark PGI Citrus from the Valencian Community and to prevent the arrival of new pests from third countries.
In addition, the industry has established a commitment to carry out a commitment. annual training day To inform farmers of all the requirements that a citrus sales contract must meet in order to prevent potential abuses and loss sales.