Turkish citrus producers are facing a mixed season this year, with varying fortunes across the sector.
Poupart, which imports Noble branded fruit exclusively to the UK from Turkish producers Soylu, reports the lemon crop as up from last year by around 20 to 30 per cent.
Jonathan Olins, import director, said: “It’s hard to say exactly how much the fruit will be up by but quality is expected to be good. It will be a better year than last year.”
He said the first boats would be leaving on September 20 and are due to arrive in the UK by the end of the month. Meanwhile, a small volume of fruit is being trucked over to catch the early market and should arrive next week.
Conversely grapefruit has suffered an off production year with supplies expected to be as much as 70 per cent down on last season in some areas.
“Last year was a big crop,” said Olins. “However, this year Star Ruby grapefruit will be distinctly short, by as much as 70 per cent.”
Other varieties, white and Ruby Red grapefruit, are expected to be down by around 50 per cent this year. As a result Turkish producers will be unlikely to take advantage of any shortfall from Florida.
Olins said: “A good thing this season is that the sizes will be much larger, so we’ll have the right sizes.”
On the easy peeler front, satsumas and mineolas are expected to be around 50 per cent up this season.
However, the increase in volumes is at the expense of size, particularly on satsumas, said Olins: “Most of the smaller fruit will go into the eastern European market, so although there is a lot more fruit available, according to early estimates, a lot of it might not be coming into the UK because it will be too small.”
