Spanish citrus growers are already warning that price pressure from supermarkets in the UK and across Europe is threatening to derail their season just as Morocco announces a 10 per cent increase in citrus output.
A spokesman for Valencia growers’ association Ava-Asaja told freshinfo: “It is not just Spanish supermarkets, but multiples in the UK and elsewhere in Europe that are negotiating prices down. There are dips in production this year so the pressure of the retailers is going against all logic.”
According to the association, marketers are holding out as best they can to keep prices reasonable, but the force of supermarket demands is intimidating. Ava-Asaja president Cristóbal Aguado said: “We growers have been working below profit levels for several season and this is not sustainable. The tactics of the supermarkets at the moment are not only unacceptable but they are endangering all the favourable expectations we had for the season.”
This season’s Spanish citrus campaign bears all the hallmarks of a profitable outcome: a considerably lighter harvest than in previous years to bring supply and demand more into balance as well as good fruit quality and sizing. To cap it off, citrus promotion body Intercitrus just recently reached an historic agreement on a price index to serve as a reference point for the season. “However, the position of the retailers is clouding over the bright outlook,” added Aguado. “There is no reason for us to give our fruit away. We need to remain calm and be strong for the benefit of the whole sector.”
As well as calling on domestic authorities to ensure good quality and the EU to take action “once and for all to restore balance to supply chain negotiations” in the food sector, Aguado warned that producers would take action where necessary. He said: “If all these pressures bring problems with regard to returns to growers, we do not anticipate taking it lying down. Let not there be any doubt: there will be protests and demonstrations. There will be tension.”
Meanwhile, Morocco’s agriculture ministry has released an early forecast for the north African country’s citrus campaign. Production is expected to reach 1.4 million tonnes, up some 10 per cent on last season. Oranges still account for the bulk of output: some 775,110t, while easy-peelers are likely to reach 581,024t.
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