The late start to the Moroccan citrus season and the abundance of undersized early clementines are casting a shadow over exporters. Things are even more complicated for exporters to North America.
Yassine Fellah, a Moroccan citrus exporter specializing in the North American market, told FreshPlaza, "Last year, by the end of October we exported our first shipment of citrus to the USA. This year, we're working hard to get the first shipment in by November 11. The drought has delayed fruit ripening, and early clementines are rare this year, as all forecasts at the start of the season were off by 10-20%, resulting in lower volumes of early clementines than we expected. There is an abundance of small fruits, which are not a big mover in most markets for Moroccan citrus."
"Citrus exports are now competing with the local market," adds Fellah. "The lack of volumes in recent years has made citrus highly sought after in Morocco, making the local market our number one competitor. Prices on the local market have risen by 200% in some cases, which makes exporting very difficult."
Another difficulty tempering citrus exports to North America, as Fellah explains, "is the fact growers are choosing to send their fruit to North America by container, rather than by conventional vessel, as container prices have fallen. This makes it difficult to book conventional vessels at present, due to the lack of regularity in weekly volumes. Ultimately, this is a good thing. It just means that, while these changes are taking place, the US market may receive less volume than expected until the logistics are resolved. The shipping companies are promising us a much faster direct line to Philadelphia, where most of our customers are located. The existing line to New York is fast but ends up being very expensive for us. In my opinion, the right thing to do is to keep both options open, in order to maintain consistency and competitiveness."
While the early clementines campaign seems to have flopped, Fellah remains hopeful for the next Nadorcott harvests in mid-December. "By then, we're confident that the logistical problems will be solved and there will be more produce to offer. At Canmar Produce, we are fortunate to have very strong partnerships with growers across Morocco, and they prefer to prioritize us as long as the product is available."
For more information:
Yassine Fellah
Canmar Produce
Tel: +212 6 61 95 17 10
Email: admin@canmarproduce.com
www.canmarproduce.com