Spanish citrus exports to non-European countries, particularly Russia and the US, have dropped by more than a quarter during the first three months of this year compared with the same stage of the 2009 campaign, according to a leading association.
Asociex, which is based in the region of Valencia, said that exports during the period had fallen by 18.7 per cent to 163,357 tonnes from the 201,125 tonnes recorded during the previous season.
Jorge García, president of the professional association of fruit exporters from Castellón (Asociex), told regional daily Las Provincias that there had been a “notable” decrease in shipments in particular to Russia and the US.
In the former case, exports to Russia over the three-month period – half of which were accounted for by clementines – had dropped to 10,500 tonnes compared with 26,000 tonnes the campaign before; a fall Mr García blamed on the “very difficult” nature of the Russian market.
Asociex told the publication that shipments to the US had also decreased by 12,500 tonnes compared with the 2008/09 campaign to 45,200 tonnes, although it said that citrus sales in the country had been better than last year.
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