Overall, the Greek production of oranges is expected to drop to 870,000 tonnes in the 2014/15 campaign, down 9% from the 960,000 tonnes reached in 2013/2014, according to the Association of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Freshfel Europe. The production of lemon and grapefruit remains stable at 55,000 tonnes and 7,000 tonnes, respectively.
These estimates have resulted in optimistic prospects when it comes to prices at origin, although the effects of the Russian embargo have yet to be seen. It is still unclear how much of an impact it will have on Spanish citrus and how European markets will be affected by it. These factors will contribute to the creation of a new trading environment, different to what we have seen in recent years, so we cannot draw any firm conclusions about the evolution of this year's citrus campaign.
Reduced production volumes have been observed for the Navel and Naveline varieties in all Greek producing regions; however, the quality is very good. The production of Clementines has also dropped, while the Nova and Ortanik varieties register increases in all regions compared to last year.
In the EU market, there are still significant amounts of citrus fruits from the Southern Hemisphere. Greek producers have stated that until the harvest starts in late November there will be no clear picture of the market.
A total of 561,440 tonnes of citrus have been imported from the Southern Hemisphere by the EU between January and August; far fewer than in the previous three years, according to data from Australia, Argentina and South Africa from 2014 published by Freshfel Europe.