Procurement seems to be variable when it comes to the international citrus fruit market. Daniele D’Antrassi, Citrus Product Manager at Dole Italia, provided us with some insight.
Argentinian lemons and South African oranges
"We have noticed a few problems right from the start of the campaign. Argentina has produced fewer lemons and, although this was compensated by arrivals from South Africa, it has also meant that there was no excess produce and that prices were satisfactory throughout the campaign."
"As for oranges from South Africa - the only ones currently processed by Dole Italia Spa - we have witnessed a huge lack of small fruits (for squeezing). In this case too, the price per kg was much higher, though there were issues with black spot (CBS)."
"Finally, the 2023 grapefruit season was characterized by lower volumes than in previous years, which helped maintain prices with a good remuneration. There were no big variations for tangerines instead."
Daniele D’Antrassi, Citrus Product Manager at Dole Italia
The origins of Dole Italia products
"We are currently working with lemons from Argentina and South Africa, Navel and Valencia oranges from South Africa, grapefruits from South Africa, pomelos from China, and Orri and Nadorcott tangerines from South Africa. We are about to start with the campaign of grapefruit from Israel and Egypt."
"Almost the entirety of counterseasonal citrus fruits imported by Dole Italia is destined to the domestic market. We are expanding within the big retail chain segment, and we are about to end the year with truly encouraging data. At the same time, our presence on the international market has also grown."
"The challenge in the near future will be to provide an increasingly efficient service and prolong the availability period thanks to new varieties and origins."
"As for the domestic citrus fruit campaign, we are selecting new producers while ensuring a strategic and cohesive project which, for suppliers, means enjoying an important commercial outlet deriving from the recognizability of the Dole brand and the possibility of working with the rest of the world thanks to our international commercial network."
A forecast for the northern hemisphere
"Forecasts envision a consistent lack of the Navel variety in Spain, which will in turn affect prices in October and November. At the moment, estimates on the domestic production report a regular situation in line with previous years."
The CBS issue
"We are still dealing with Citrus Black Spot (CBS) and, actually, the lack of oranges is mainly due to this issue. Most importers have had to deal with order cancellations throughout the year."