The Portuguese apple export season has finished, with United Growers focusing on supplying the Middle East for the last stretch of the season, says Joao Juma, export manager for the Portuguese apple exporter: "Our predictions regarding high prices proved accurate. From the start of the season through the end of December, most of our apple exports were directed to Brazil, at satisfactory prices. However, we did face unexpected competition from France and Italy, who offered surprisingly low prices during this time. We believe this was due to their rush to sell and avoid issues related to low fruit firmness, caused by the heatwave they experienced. From January onward, we successfully focused on our Middle East market in anticipation of Ramadan, before South Africa entered the market."
Juma states that the company is currently importing larger-sized apples to supply the Portuguese domestic market. "Currently, our stocks mainly consist of smaller sizes, and we are beginning to import larger sizes from our partners in Serbia. We're now open to collaborating with other European producers with the availability of larger sizes (75+) of Golden, Galas, Fujis, and Granny apples for our local programs."
According to Juma, there were still issues with logistics, such as delays. Despite this, the focus was still on exports for Portuguese traders: "Overall, it was a regular year for us. While we harvested smaller sizes than usual, we had good firmness and coloration compared to other European production regions. The local market was generally slower this year and most producers made an effort to export at better prices until January. Challenges were found in the logistical side of the operation, with major delays to South America, and the Red Sea blockage still being a prohibitive factor to continue providing our product to the Far East and India."
"It's too early to understand what will happen next season. World politics have been chaotic and we might focus our strategy in different directions, depending on what happens in the following months. At the moment, we have had a very good amount of rain and the trees are slowly waking up. We shall see how the weather behaves in the next few months of blossoming, so we can understand what to expect of the upcoming apple season," Juma concludes.
For more information:
Joao Juma
United Growers
Tel: +351 910 645 600
Email: Portugala@portugalapples.com
www.portugalapples.com