The Spanish region of Valencia is set to make Russia the focus of its citrus promotional campaign this season, as many leading producers in the sector believe the country has major potential for export growth.
Valencia’s regional government, the Generalitat Valenciana, is planning to highlight the qualities of its citrus products at the upcoming Russian trade fair World Food Moscow, while separate meetings will be held with key Russian citrus importers.
According to the Valencian government’s director of marketing, Marta Valsangiacomo Gil, the region’s citrus exporters hope to tap into the strong demand in Russia for clementines during November and December.
“Russia is a very good market for quality clementines and there’s a high demand for the fruit during November and December when it is traditionally given as a present,” she told Fruitnet.
“It’s an important market because of the focus on quality and the demand for high volumes.”
Morocco, which already exports substantial volumes of clementines to Russia, is Valencia’s principal competitor in the country, although Ms Valsangiacomo believes the faster delivery times for the Spanish fruit will enable it to gain greater market share.
Valencia’s director of marketing said that the Middle East is also a market of great interest to the region’s exporters, revealing that the Generalitat will be heading a trade delegation of leading firms to Dubai in November.
In terms of other markets, she said that the region is likely to schedule further clementine shipments to Taiwan following a successful export trial in May this year.
