Agronomist Juan Manuel Peiró, technical co-ordinator at Valencia growers’ organisation Ava-Asaja sums up the situation facing his producers very clearly: “In Valencia, growers are pulling up their trees after four years of continual crisis. Each year they are getting more and more demoralised. But that said, production is down by about one million tonnes and we are the biggest production region in Spain, so producers are optimistic that this will mean better prices.”
Perhaps some of the reason for the optimism is that a considerable proportion of the decline is in the early varieties. “These can cause us the most problems, by overlapping with some of the later types and making things difficult in terms of sales and marketing,” says Peiró. “This way, we should have a smoother start to the season.”
The reason for the decline -which is particularly noticeable in satsumas and Navelina oranges, with estimated declines of around 40 per cent on last season - is down to various factors. According to Peiró, the fact that some fruit was left last season rather than picked due to the poor market may have had an effect on the trees so that they flowered and produced less this season. Also warm, dry winds at fruit set in April could have hindered fruit development.
But there is a real feeling in the sector that the situation of recent seasons is unsustainable and things must change.
“Clearly we have been going through several years of crisis in terms of prices at the farm gate and those who are hardest hit are the producers themselves who are just not seeing their efforts rewarded,” says Juan Bautista Juan of the regulatory council for the protected geographical indicator (PGI) Cítricos Valencianos. “As a result, a lot have abandoned their land as that is more economical than producing on it, but this has a whole raft of consequences for the sector as a whole. For example, it demotivates the sector as a whole, can engender less care to be taken of neighbouring plantations and end up endangering fruit quality. Another problem is that marketing is very segmented, which means there is a lack of organisation and co-ordination of supply. And if fruit does not have a high price at the farm gate, then it is difficult to try and apply pressure further along the chain and be strong on price in the market.
“All the studies say that citrus consumption is increasing year on year, but if it has to be in exchange for giving the fruit away, then we don’t believe there is any merit in the increase. What we need is a price watchdog so that citrus prices can be regulated. Then the speculation that only benefits the few and yields nothing for those that put in all the work producing the fruit in our fields will disappear.”
It looks like those wishes could come true. The largest Spanish co-op Anecoop has announced it is putting into action a profitable citrus plan dubbed Cítricos Rentables. The main aim of the project, which forms the crux of this season’s marketing campaign is to ensure transparency in commercial dealings along the chain. This is in line with an initiative from the Valencia regional government for a price regulator, which will be established in the region “in October or November”, according to statements issued by the agriculture department of the regional executive. “At Anecoop, we are going to fight for citrus prices that are fitting and allow growers to achieve the profitability that has been so elusive in the last few years,” said the co-op’s director-general, José María Planells.
Research and development work continues apace too, with projects at Ivia, the Valencia research centre, the regional university and various private commercial businesses concentrating on several lines of investigation. “We are looking at new late varieties of easy-peeler as that is what we have least of,” says Peiró. “At the moment, there is substantial production in the October to January window, but researchers are working on the February to April period. They are also using new triple-hybrid techniques that allow the selection of seedless varieties much more rapidly. And work is being done on post harvest to try and extend storage and shelf life, as well as making citrus products more accessible by offering prepared lines, for example.”
Product differentiation and added value are not only a priority at the regulatory council, but the very basis of the PGI. Still just a small percentage of overall Valencia citrus output - at a likely 13,000-14,000 tonnes this season of an overall crop of some 3mt, a growing number within the sector, see that meeting the strict protocols and earning the label is one of their best chances of securing the necessary market standing and returns. “We have seen that after several years of promotional activity Cítricos Valencianos is gaining the trust of making progress in both the French and Italian markets,” says Juan. “We’re almost bound, therefore, to set our sights on a market which both values taste and takes up the volumes that the UK market does.”
But there are barriers to progress. “I’d say the main setbacks are the supermarkets’ own quality protocols and their emphasis almost exclusively on their own brands,” says Juan. “This means they are very wary when it comes to an umbrella quality label, such as the Cítricos Valencianos PGI. But we remain convinced that it is simply a lack of understanding of what a PGI or denomination of origin (DO) stands for, and the work involved in terms of quality that is preventing us making progress in the UK.” The situation is different in France and Italy where there is already a good understanding among buyers of DO and PGI status and consumers have a connection with the EU logo and understand there is a difference between those products that bear the marque and those that do not.
Juan believes that the working philosophy of UK supermarkets and the extreme care they take over product quality and all production processes, is in line with PGI Cítricos Valencianos’ own “policy and obsession for certifying the best citrus in the Valencia region,” he says. “And lets not forget that it is the area that exports more easy-peelers than any other worldwide.”
The regulatory council also believes that the promotional campaigns it develops, as well as tastings at point of sale that it organises when it enters a market, are very positive for retailers. “These help shoppers to recognise the care we take in good agricultural practices and they then associate this with a trustworthy product,” says Juan.
In order to get the message across to the UK market, PGI Cítricos Valencianos will be in London on October 17-18 at Borough Market, and on October 21-22 with DO Kaki Ribera del Xuquer, at the World Fruit & Vegetable Show.
Spanish growers should also take heart from the attitudes of UK packers to their fruit. MM Global Citrus isthe joint venture company formed earlier this year when Mack and Spanish supplier Martinavarrocemented their three-generations-old relationship, creating a unique concept combining the role of exporter and importer into one business. MMG’s Paul Haynes is very optimistic for the future of Spanish citrus in the UK. “Spain will continue to be the pre-eminent source of citrus into the UK for many years to come, particularly in easy peelersand will always have the lion’s share of the UK market,” says Haynes. “They have an understanding of the UK marketplace,plus their proximity is good for freshnessof product. They also have a closeness of relationship with UK retailersand their requirements, for example packing into plastic trays, and a green footprint. Another key advantage is their ability to pre-pack at sourceand then deliver a programmed supply on time and reliably. Further Spanish producers provide security of supply, particularly over recent years with opening up of other growing locations, for example in Huelva and finally, variety innovation is backed up by world-leading technical support to growing and packing operations.”
MMG was due to receive its first satsumas this week, more or less in line with last season’s start date. “There are, however, some early maturing new selections of Oronule, for example Clemenruby, which is available in commercial volumes for the first time this year, that haveallowed us to startthe Spanish clementine season about a week or 10 days earlier than last year on September 21.”
The long-term goal is for Clemenruby to replace Marisol in the early clem window and it is characterized by its good skin colour. So far, Haynes reports, quality islooking good this year and size in general is larger than usual. “Because volume is significantly down, there will be upward pressure on raw material prices for commodity varieties in the UK,” he says. “Each variety supply period is likely to be shortened; particularly from both Morocco and Turkey, with big soft citrus reductions in crop volumes.”
