La Unió de Llauradors has estimated the losses in this year's citrus campaign in the province of Castellon at more than 75 million Euro. The main causes are the reduction of mandarin prices and the humidity due to the latest rains.
The general secretary of La Unió de Llauradors, Ramón Mampel, explained that the fall in prices, which are 35% lower than last season, has caused almost 57 million Euro in losses. To this we must add that the rains of recent weeks, with the citrus fruits already ripe, has increased this figure to 75 million Euro in the province of Castellon alone.
Furthermore, Mampel points to retailers as partly responsible for the problems in a campaign which has been considered disastrous. According to the general secretary of La Unió, these companies have sold products from other countries and have even broken some contracts; a situation that growers "will not tolerate anymore."
For now, the Valencian Government has not yet allocated funds to repair roads, ditches and other agricultural infrastructures destroyed by the rains of the last few weeks. This Saturday and Sunday more rainfall has been recorded and this could aggravate the crisis.
Málaga loses up to 70% of the Clemenules
The recent floods in the Guadalhorce have taken their toll on the harvest of clementines. Producers estimate that at least between 50 and 70 percent of the Clemenules have been affected. Rain and moisture have spoiled most of the unharvested fruit, making it unmarketable.
Clemenules clementines are considered the queen of mandarins in the Guadalhorce, partly because of their thin and easy to peel skin, smooth and seedless pulp and their sweet taste with a sour touch. The problem is that they are very sensitive to humidity and rain, especially when they are already ripe, and this has been the main issue in the region of Guadalhorce and other producing areas like the Region of Valencia. The abundant rainfall and floods surprised the producers with the fruit about to be harvested and this has led to the majority of farms suffering important losses, since they had hardly harvested a quarter of the fruit.
The province had expected a production of mandarins and clementines of around 18,320 tonnes this year, according to estimations from the Council of Agriculture for the 2016-2017 campaign. This is 30.4 percent less than the figure achieved in the 2015-2016 campaign, which came to a close with a total of 26,306 tonnes.
The fall of the unharvested fruit to the ground only aggravates the situation of the sector, which was already complaining about the low prices of mandarins (between 0.20 and 0.30 Euro per kilo). Producers are confident that the little that has been saved, because it has not fallen to the ground, can be sold at a higher price.
Only 500 of the province's 10,000 hectares of citrus are insured, according to Asaja Málaga
According to the manager of Citrima, Guillermo Aranda, the main concern of mandarin and clementine producers (both crops account for about 1,700 hectares) was the possibility of water and moisture affecting the skin of the fruit and causing its fall. And that is precisely what has finally happened.
"We have had to put an end to the marketing campaign for mandarins due to the extent of the damage," explains Espinosa.
