The harvest season of Greek Valencia oranges is approaching the finish line, which stands at the end of October. Mr. George Mpekiaris, co-owner of Sparta Valley Fruits, a citrus packing company from Laconia, Greece, notes an improvement in demand and prices since the end of July. As he says: "The area of Laconia, from which the Greek Valencia oranges come, has yielded this season about 170,000 tons. From the beginning of the season, in March, until May, growers' prices were very low, hardly reaching 0,20 euros/kg. Some growers were even paid 0,10 euros/kg." This is due to the high pressure that the enormous and very cheap imported Egyptian oranges were exerting on the Greek crop.
"This situation changed when the South African oranges began to arrive in European markets," says the Greek packer. "Then, growers' prices for Greek Valencia rose to 0,30-0,50 euros/kg and now they have been stabilized at 0,30-0,40 euros. It's easier for the Greek Valencia oranges to compete with the South African imports, because the South African oranges are more expensive than the Egyptian ones and this has also provoked an increase for our own price as well. Furthermore, despite the fact that the South African oranges have a more attractive appearance, the Greek Valencia are known for their sweet taste."
No gap between Greek Valencias and Navelinas
As for the rest of the Greek Valencia season, Mr. Mpekiaris calculates that there are only about 20,000 tons left to be exported. At the moment, his company is serving requests from Central and Northern Europe, but after the end of October there will not be enough fruits in Laconia for exports. "By the end of October, we will have shipped about 20,000 tons of conventional and 3,000 tons of organic citrus. We trade citrus all year round and we are pleased that there will be no gap in supplying our customers, since the new Greek orange season will begin early. Our packing house will start to receive new Navelinas with 11°-12° Brix, from the area of Argolida towards this end of this month," stresses the Greek exporter, who observes a 20-30% reduction of the crop in the new season. However, his great concern is Egypt: "We are afraid of what we can expect this year, if they are not able to ship their products to Asia," Mr. Mpekiaris concludes.
For more information:
George Mpekiaris
Sparta Valley Fruits
Tel: +30 273 102 0206
Mob: +30 694 417 9949
[email protected]
www.spartavalleyfruits.gr/index-en.html