While weather conditions look to be somewhat affecting import citrus, things are starting to look better in some growing regions. Right now, Seald Sweet is bringing in clementines and soon Nadorcott mandarins from Morocco and Honey tangerines from Mexico and will soon start production of Valencias from the latter as well.
Morocco: Weather patterns look to have impacted the early clementine crop in Morocco. “We had a tremendously dry hot growing season on the early clementines there and that prohibited volume,” says GT Parris of Seald Sweet. “Quality was also a bit off on the early clementines.
Clementines from Morocco.
However, production is now moving into the second, later half of the Moroccan season with Nadorcott mandarins. “We finished off the early ones where everybody struggled and the quality and volume was down,” he says, noting Seald Sweet completed its program with not too much discrepancy from what was anticipated at the start of the season. “The second half of the season should see volume up and we shouldn’t see any problems with quality either.” This second half of the season should run through to the end of May.
Mexico: Mexico looks to be similarly affected by weather conditions. “Honey tangerines started there about two weeks later than normal and they were having a hard time getting them to color up,” says Parris, noting though that the quality is good. “The fruit tends to be larger from Mexico and they produce a lot of 80s, 64s--a good size for individual grabbing of a few pieces of fruit as opposed to putting into a bag and it’s a great piece of fruit. Though this year they just didn’t size up so they’re peaking on 120s with a few 80s and very few 64s.”
Honey tangerine production will finish up likely in late February. However Valencia production from Mexico begins at the start of next month, which is about eight to 10 days late, and that will go through sometime in May.
That production will compete with Florida and Texas. “California is short on the smaller sizes of navels--the 113s and 88s. So there’s a big need right now for that size structure but we’re just in between on oranges so we’re not able to fill much of that yet,” adds Parris, noting that Valencias out of Mexico have thinner rinds than California oranges but they are not quite as thin as the rinds on Florida Valencias.
Honey tangerines from Mexico.
Contending with weather
In turn, with more inconsistent weather conditions worldwide, Parris says it means Seald Sweet has to be more diverse in its sourcing of product. “You can’t just rely on one continent or one country. Even inside that country, you have to find multiple growers sometimes to fill the volume that you projected at the beginning of the season and then you have to find quality growers. It becomes an issue when you have packouts that drop down below what you anticipated.”
As for demand for mandarins, currently, California also has winter citrus production though it’s seeing several rains. “A lot of retailers plan on a certain volume from California but they also like to have that reserve just in case California has an issue,” Parris adds. “So we’re able to fill that in and demand is steady.”
On pricing, Moroccan pricing is similar to last year. “In Mexico, pricing has been very generous back to the grower and I don’t know how long that’s going to hold up,” says Parris, noting part of this may depend on how the rain develops in California.
For more information:
G.T. Parris
Seald Sweet
Tel: +1 (772) 569-2244
gtparris@sealdsweet.com
www.sealdsweet.com