After starting off with above average prices, especially for cherries and apricots, a "phase of severe correction at source" has been observed since mid-May for all stone fruit, according to MAPA, with the price at source of nectarines and cherries falling by 35.6% and 34.5% in week 20 compared to the previous week.
"At the beginning, there were only limited volumes of stone fruit from Murcia, and prices have been quite high, but with the arrival of fruit from Extremadura, everything is changing," says an agent from the sector.
"Flat peaches have been bought this week in Valencia in boxes of 40 units at starting prices of 2.70 €/kilo, while here in Badajoz, flat peaches have already been sold for 1.30 €/kilo in pallets."
"The first extra-early varieties are usually a little smaller, but with the arrival on the market of varieties such as Samantha, there will start to be more availability of A and AA-sized fruit."
"As far as plums are concerned, in Badajoz, we are starting in the first week of June with the black varieties. In the beginning, the lack of plums won't be so noticeable; however, for some varieties that will come after the black varieties, growers expect to get around a third of last year's production. The supply will be under pressure until the arrival of the Sun Gold, for which a good production is expected," says the sector agent.
The spring rains are to blame for this drop in Extremadura's plum production. The situation has also affected later varieties, such as the Angeleno, "whose production is expected to fall by 25% compared to last year." This has led to "Brazil showing interest in starting earlier with the import of Spanish plums."
The stone fruit season will continue in the coming weeks with a gradual increase in the volumes of all products. "What is remarkable so far is that, despite the lower Spanish supply at this early stage of the season, there is not much urgency in the market, with consumption levels shaped by what's available."
"Talking to partners in Italy and Perpignan, they tell me that sales are very slow, without excessively high consumption, and that price drops are expected as European countries are starting their own harvests," says the expert.
"In recent years, Spain has managed to keep its prices up at pretty decent levels until well into June; however, France, Italy, and Greece are managing to market their products earlier and with increasingly competitive prices. Local seasonal fruit is highly appreciated in Europe and tends to reach higher prices than imports, but I hear that in France, French cherries are currently being sold at almost the same price as Spanish cherries."