Daifressh, the Valencian company which is in the middle of its orange export campaign, spoke about how the markets have been surprised by a cold wave.
"This has affected the this season's export estimate. The initial forecast for the current campaign estimated that citrus production would increase by around 15%, a figure that has decreased because of the frost caused by the Siberian cold front," they said.
The fruit and vegetable market has been affected by a decrease in the production of fruits and vegetables. So, as there wasn't enough product to meet the demand of the Central European markets, prices increased in January.
The citrus producing countries most affected by the cold weather have been Italy and Greece, but the weather has also affected southeastern Spain, in the areas of Alicante, Valencia, Murcia and Almeria, "which have had much demand for oranges," according to Daifressh.
"The frost damage on the first part of the export season oranges has resulted in losses for producers. Many tons of oranges have been left on the trees, first because of the drought, later because of the rains, and now because of the cold wave," they added.
Daifressh expects that there won't be any frost to impair the production in the second part of the orange export season. "As a result, prices and the demand for this product can improve."
According to Daifressh, the volumes and the quality in the first part of the orange export season remained the same in its main markets, such as Hungary and Poland, up until December."
Source - http://www.freshplaza.com
