After a relatively early start to the season, the supply of Moroccan citrus fruits has slowed down lately. "Berkane clementines were continuously available in November and December, but the quality was rather poor. The first Navel oranges of Moroccan origin were available before Christmas, which is otherwise rarely the case, followed by the Salus variety from mid-January, which was mainly used as a juice orange. For three weeks now, however, we have been left high and dry, waiting for the first Lane Late arrivals," says Krino Röben, Morocco specialist and managing director of the mail-order company Fruchtversand24, based in Aurich.
According to his partners in Morocco, the Lane Late, which is considered more of an intermediate variety, is currently mainly needed to meet domestic demand. "Otherwise, we have noticed that Egypt is currently very aggressive in terms of pricing when it comes to juice oranges, which is why it is becoming increasingly difficult to offer Moroccan products at competitive prices," says Röben, who is now hoping for better market conditions by the start of the final phase of the season. From April onwards, the main variety Late usually hits the market and is offered until the start of the season in the Southern Hemisphere in June/July. "Experience has shown that the quantities here are too extensive to serve only the domestic market and the main export market France, which is why they will also be marketed elsewhere, for example in Germany."
Berkane Clementines. The high-quality Fine variety, which is marketed in November and December, is followed by Nour and Aphorea (Nadorcott). The two citrus-growing areas are in Agadir and Berkane.
Utopian prices affect grapefruit imports
Fruchtversand24 is a classic mail-order business that primarily supplies private buyers with selected products. For many years, the company has been importing and distributing overseas grapefruits from Florida in addition to Moroccan citrus fruits. Röben: "This product line has been completely dropped this year. To my knowledge, only one container arrived in France, but it was immediately sold out. This is due, firstly, to the poor harvest and, secondly, to the hurricane, which in turn has led to utopian prices. Instead, we have been offering Star Ruby from Texas since January 20. This contrasts with previous years when Texas grapefruits were rarely offered to us. Although the Texas product is somewhat coarser, it tastes slightly sweeter."
© Fruchtversand24
Moroccan oranges
Pallets instead of containers
Both product pillars have been greatly reduced over the years. "Grapefruits, in particular, are now counted in palettes instead of containers," Röben points out. But also in the category of Moroccan citrus fruits, the trend is rather downward. "Just 15-30 years ago, there was a massive selection of varieties and packing stations at the clock in the Port of Rotterdam. It's difficult to say when the turning point was: the quality of the early Agadir clementines deteriorated rapidly one day. Incidentally, it's not the case that citrus cultivation is inevitably declining, but rather that more is being exported to Canada and the USA."
Instead of Florida grapefruit, fruit from Texas is currently on offer.
According to Röben, there are few suitable alternatives. "I looked around in southern Italy, but unfortunately the sample shipments didn't really convince me. My grapefruit customers keep asking me about oranges from Florida. They are said to be of outstanding quality, but the quantities are not even enough to meet domestic demand, which is why export is out of the question." In this respect, the product specialist is rather critical of the future. "In addition, there are now import tariffs in the USA, which are not yet having a noticeable effect on the markets, but will have a certain influence sooner or later," he concludes.
For more information:
Krino Röben
Fruchtversand24
Kirchdorfer Str. 177
D-26605 Aurich
Phone: +49 (0)4941-9737 904
Fax: +49 (0)4941-998 934
mail@fruchtversand24.de
https://www.fruchtversand24.de/