The general secretary of the Unió de Llauradors, Carles Peris, said that the citrus harvest in Castellón is developing "at a good pace," with high quality fruit and good calibers. However, he warns that this year's Clemenules harvest will come to an end on December 20; that is, almost a month before last season. This is due to the drop in the production that had already been predicted by the Council of Agriculture. To be precise, there is talk of a 33% decline, although this factor has helped keep prices at reasonable levels, since there is no overproduction. Clementines, which represent two thirds of the province's total production, are the most affected. Their volume will amount to around 365,099 tons, 39.1% less than in the previous season. "We hope that the market will remain gradually supplied, which is important when setting prices. If the Clemenules and Navelina are finished earlier, we will start shipping mandarins, Clemenvillas and Sando, which are the varieties of the second campaign," said Peris, who added that, at the moment, the Marisol is running out and the Clemenules has just arrived. The latter is reaching prices of over 30 cents per kilo, which is practically twice as much as in the previous season, when it ranged between 12 and 18 cents. In fact, fruit was left unharvested given the impossibility of covering the production costs. Also, Peris points out that the production of the varieties that are usually harvested from January is looking good, and the prices negotiated for them are also positive. For example, that of the Clemenvilla ranges between 0.24 and 0.35 Euro. According to the head of La Unió, the fact that there has been less fruit at the start of the campaign has entailed a lower need for laborers, both in the field and the warehouses. Source - https://www.freshplaza.com