Lleida's stone fruit season has already passed its halfway point and will last until the end of September or the beginning of October. In general, the prices paid for the available supply are not yet satisfactory. Ten years after the Russian export boycott, Turkey is emerging as an increasingly tougher competitor.
"The harvest kicked off quite early in Lleida, and we are finding ourselves with a smaller production than we initially expected because the trees are not responding as they usually do due to climate change," says Josep Presseguer, Director of the Fruits de Ponent cooperative. "In general, we have also noticed a lack of larger sizes in all the species, although it is rather more noticeable in nectarines."
As far as sales are concerned, Presseguer says that "we are not facing a season with high prices, despite the smooth sales and the very low stocks in cold storage, given that the supply is lower than expected both in Lleida and in other European producing countries."
"While nectarine prices remain low, there have been small increases for peaches and flat peaches compared to last year's poor results, and platerines also record an upward trend. Prices are expected to rebound at the end of the season, but it doesn't look like they will be exceptional," says Presseguer.
The cooperative has also recently started the top fruit harvests, with a significant reduction in the pear production compared to last year.
"Without a doubt, the Russian boycott has created an increasingly strong competitor in stone fruit: Turkey".
As ten years have passed since the Russian boycott was introduced, the Director of Fruits de Ponent recalls two distinct stages: "The initial moment of shock, which hurt us a lot, and the stage of accepting the loss of the Russian market and the lower sales in neighbouring countries such as Belarus, Ukraine, the Baltic countries, Bulgaria and Romania."
"The Russian veto brought the emergence of new suppliers for Russia, as well as increasing competition in other European markets. We are mainly talking about Turkey, which is developing increasingly competitive products and which, taking advantage of its proximity, has managed to establish itself in Russia and in the countries mentioned above over the years. And this trend is bound to continue," says Josep Presseguer.
Progress in merger with Actel
Back in February this year, Fruits de Ponent and Actel announced the creation of a joint company with the merger of the two cooperative groups, which have started to integrate internally in the current stone fruit season.
"I could summarize this process in a single sentence: if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together," says Josep Presseguer. "We are in a huge merger process, especially since we are talking about two companies with many interests, sometimes shared and sometimes not. There is no turning back, and we aim for the process to consolidate step by step with full collaboration in all areas, be it audits, invoicing, certifications, etc. We have been making progress on this all summer."
For more information:
Fruits de Ponent
T: +34 973 79 01 69
Email: [email protected]
fruitsponent.com