Retail price hikes have boosted the citrus category by six per cent in the last year to a value of £682 million, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel.

The average kilo price increased from £1.75 to £1.86, however it is the discounters that have made a real success of the popularity of the category, increasing their market share by 20 per cent. Volumes across the market have been flat.

Joanne Mumford, category insight manager at Chingford Fruit, suggests the value increase has come as a result of mix-and-match offers, with retailers having shifted their promotional strategy over from same-product multibuys. “Average retail price increase will have also reduced the unit volume customers purchase as shoppers seek to manage the amount they spend,” she says.

“Shoppers are less keen to buy multiple packs of the same product and this has had an impact on citrus,” she adds. “Total grocery trends transfer to citrus where shoppers are buying more frequently but reducing overall trip size to manage waste and spend. Increased frequency is also likely to link to evolving channel habits, which is seeing convenience grow.”

And it is likely there will be more of the same going forward, she continues, allied to additional focus and sales-driving tactics at key seasonal points. “Total promotional instances have reduced only marginally year on year across the market.

“Extra-free/added-value offers have reduced to make way for increases in multibuy activity, while price cuts have stayed at about the same level.

“Recent promotional levels have decreased and average prices have increased, suggesting a trend where value driven by inflation is likely to continue. Retailers are likely to drive further creativity to appeal to their customer base to increase discretionary purchases, with marketing promotions, recipe usage ideas and citrus-related giveaways featuring more frequently.”

Tesco has reported strong growth of citrus within its own stores – outperforming the market on oranges, lemons and easy peelers – and particularly on the back of its Celebrate Spanish Citrus promotion with MMUK (Munoz). The retailer’s citrus buyer Tim Battey says: “The awareness campaign has really resonated with customers, who have enjoyed the best citrus available in the run up to Christmas and beyond, alongside some strong price promotions.

“A powerful plan together with in-store, on-pack and experiential marketing has helped us communicate effectively with consumers across the board. The data clearly demonstrates that our activity has brought new shoppers to the category, which was one of our key objectives from the outset.”

Currently available on store shelves are imports from Spain and the US, with Floridian grapefruit selling particularly well, according to supermarkets. However, the crop this year has been a bit of a challenge, reports Mike Yetter, international marketing director at Florida Department of Citrus. “We experienced drought conditions during our growing season which impacted the trees and, subsequently, the crop,” he says. “We have had a higher drop rate this year than most years.”

Every year a certain percentage of the fruit will drop off the tree prior to harvest, but this year it’s been abnormally high because of drought conditions.

Consequently, there has been a reduction in the size of the citrus crop.

“Demand has been good from the UK,” Yetter adds. “Consumers recognise the nutritional value and superior taste of Florida citrus; unfortunately the crop size is a limiting factor in terms of shipments. We anticipate that fresh grapefruit shipments to the UK will be off about five per cent this year compared to the year-ago period. I estimate we will ship around 10,250 tonnes this season.”

The main concern in Florida is the battle against the greening bacterial citrus disease. However, the Florida citrus industry remains “united in its resolve to overcome the disease,” Yetter stressed. —

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