Joan Brusca, secretary general of producers' association Coag has condemned the market as farm-gate citrus prices slumped to euro018-0.21 last week compared to euro0.24-0.30 for the same period last season.
As the Spanish citrus season gears up, Brusca said that the number of sales deals finalised so far is running at just 10 per cent of the figure for this time last year.
The US imposed a ban on clementine imports from Spain at the end of 2001 after the discovery of Mediterranean fruit fly in consignments. But Spanish sector representatives are angry that the uncertainty surrounding the immediate future of what is a relatively small market for their fruit – 50,000-80,000 tonnes are exported to the US annually – is affecting pricing for an entire crop. Spain sends 3 million tonnes each year to other European and third countries.
It is too early in the year for crop estimates, but production in Spain is likely to be down on last season, said Brusca.
