Citrus supply has been tighter than expected for the UK market, with growers and exporters in the major producing countries continuing to eye up alternative destinations in search of better returns.
Across the category, supply has met demand and contracts have been fulfilled, but there has been little else in the way of sendings to the UK. However, trade has remained on an even keel throughout the summer, with promotions being used to shift the fruit, which is traditionally overlooked throughout the summer in favour of home-grown or seasonal lines, such as British berries or European stonefruit.
Insiders are hoping that the encroaching colder weather will bring on increased sales and have consumers reaching for citrus lines in a bid to ward off the well-documented swine flu, as well as the usual bouts of winter illnesses.
Spanish citrus is expected to come on stream in volume over the next few weeks, to build on some token early sendings that have not yet met eating expectations. The season will feature the popular Navelina, Navel and Navelate, as well as easy peelers including okitsus, clementines and satsumas. These will be followed by lemons at the end of the month.
This season, plantings across the category have remained steady, but volumes will be 20-25 per cent lower, which could go some way to creating a stronger market.
So far this year, UK importers have struggled to get the volumes they need. Orange supply has been shorter than would normally have been expected, with South African growers and exporters tempted away from the UK market because of the exchange rate and into more business with higher-paying destinations, including Russia and the Far East. The country has shipped far fewer oranges to the UK this season, with shipments to Europe down by eight million cartons to the end of September.
“This is a massive decrease and would explain why the orange market is tight,” says one supplier. “And there has been a shortage of smaller sizes this year, which is not the normal situation.
“South Africans were nervous about the market from the start and they did not think it would be particularly strong, especially for oranges. When exporters are confident, they ship to consignment markets such as Europe but, when they are not, volumes are often redirected away from the UK and the continent.
“At the same time, confidence was growing in the Russian market that returns would be higher and more reliable than they were last year, when some payments came in late. But there was a period in mid-August when the market was under pressure because of late payments, but they picked up by September.
“To be honest, they probably regret not shipping more to the UK because the market has been stronger than anyone thought.”
However, this shift in markets served by the southern hemisphere from west to east may continue, unless UK and European importers up their game in time for next season.
“The days of consignment shipping have to have a question mark over them,” says an importer. “Increasingly, growers want to know the price before they ship.”
Easy peelers have enjoyed a relatively stable summer but, even though the sub-category tends to lead the citrus offer, TNS figures show a drop-off over the last 12 weeks, with volumes falling two per cent and expenditure down by one per cent.
Nadorcots from Peru have been top quality, with their excellent eating quality expected to raise the profile of the fruit in the long term.
But overall, September was better than the same time last year, with steady volumes from South Africa and fewer Chilean clementines in the marketplace.
On the other hand, the grapefruit market has been a challenge throughout the summer, with light supplies and stalling demand. All in all, those who deal with the sub-category have made no secret of their concerns, as consumers continue to opt out of buying grapefruit. TNS figures show that the last four weeks alone have seen a staggering 25 per cent drop in consumption.
The lemon sub-category has enjoyed yet another strong quarter, with Argentina short on volumes and South African supply causing prices to “wobble” only when they initially hit the market. At the moment, prices have reached a good £1 per kilo - however, a handful of supermarkets have started to drop retails, much to the dismay of the sector.
“Ironically, when retail prices jumped from 19p to 29p last year, lemon sales actually increased,” one supplier reasons. “This means retailers are doing nothing but devaluing a perfectly good, saleable product.”
At the same time, limes are proving increasingly popular, with TNS reporting a 25 per cent jump in volume over the last four weeks, possibly as an alternative to more expensive lemons.
“On the whole, the last three months have been a battle,” says an insider. “The volumes available to importers to fill orders have been smaller than expected and suppliers are stuck in a pincer movement between retailers’ demands and growers’ expectations.
“It is not going to be easy for the Spanish, what with the exchange rate still causing headaches. We should see the traditional promotions before Christmas, but perhaps not at the prices that were around last year - we cannot afford it.”
NAKED GROCER SLAMS CITRUS CHEATS
what is the actual cost of saving money on buying inferior fruit, especially in the citrus category, asks Chris Bavin, a former sales manager at Israeli export giant Agrexco and now of new greengrocer, The Naked Grocer, in Walton-Upon-Thames.
The citrus sector is possibly one of the categories that is mostly affected in this area - and while this question is relevant to all sectors in the fruit industry, I believe this is the best example. Can we truly understand the long-term cost to the fruit industry of selling inferior eating fruit?
Take grapefruit, for instance. Are we doing ourselves long-term damage by selling fruit that has been picked too early and therefore so acidic it is inedible; is that ever the “cheaper” option?
Before I opened The Naked Grocer, I used to import fruit and vegetables and was surprised at first and then constantly disappointed by the “I am not going to be eating it” mentality.
If we continue to sell fruit that does not eat well, how long is it until there is no longer a demand for that item?
You are not just hurting yourself by possibly losing a customer, but you could be hurting the whole sector, as I am sure someone will only eat an inedible grapefruit a few times before being permanently put off buying it.
And this is the case with the likes of easy peelers and oranges, as well as grapefruit.
Can the flavourless easy peelers, no matter how cheap, ever be a good idea? Are we putting whole generations off eating easy peelers? The majority of children and even a lot of adults cannot differentiate between the countless different varieties, but what they will know is that every time they have eaten soft citrus, it was not very nice.
Will they remember the price or the actual variety it was or the time of year, or give us the benefit of the doubt because the season has just started or is ending? Most probably not.
As an industry, we must all work together to stop the shortsighted sale of
inferior products. Yes, it is harder to make your margins selling higher-priced, best-quality fruit and I am sure there are areas where price is the main and possibly the only factor people take into consideration, but the idea is that every piece of fruit that is grown is going to be eaten - maybe we are all guilty of forgetting this sometimes.
I think the misconception is that selling an item on price is the easiest option. However, I believe that selling it on the strength of its quality is the easiest thing and something people will keep coming back for time and time again.
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