Asaja Córdoba participated in the last session of the Chamber of Commerce's Citrus Fruit Exchange's citrus table, putting an end to this year's season. This season was marked by a market with less demand than expected, taking into account the drop in production in countries such as Brazil. Local production was higher than last year, which was one of the lowest productions in recent years due to the drought and the decrease in irrigation supply last summer.
The 2024-2025 season in the Vega del Guadalquivir was analyzed in the session. Production was higher than last season but lower than what the Junta de Andalucía had forecast.
Demand for oranges has been lower than expected, and fresh and industrial orange prices remained relatively constant at source. Prices didn't collapse as they did last year due to the entry of oranges from outside the European Union, mainly from Egypt, and thanks to the decrease in production of the main producing countries, such as Brazil, the world's main orange juice producer. This decrease in production helped the industry prices rise gradually since January, but not to the levels expected when taking into account juice prices on the futures market.
The price of the high-quality Valencia Midknight and Barberina varieties stood at €0.44-0.50/kg, and that of the Blanca and Salustiana varieties for the industry at €0.29-0.31/kg.
Citrus growers also discussed the importance of stating the country of origin of the fruits used to make juices on these products' front label.
According to them, the current marketing standards applicable to juices should include labelling standards that require the nomenclature, composition, country of origin, and, in the case of mixed fruit, the countries of origin to be listed on the label in descending order according to the proportion of fruit contained in the product. "Not indicating the origin of the fruit in a juice is a way of deceiving consumers that must be corrected," they stressed.
Committing to clearer labelling that increases transparency for consumers is key and could promote the production of these products in the European Union, they stressed. "It will also help avoid unfair competition brought by imported agri-food products that don't meet the quality standards required by EU countries," they added.
For more information:
Asaja Cordoba
www.asajacordoba.es