The South African lemon and orange season started a few weeks ago at OV Fruit in Ridderkerk. "But from last week onward, the supply really started to take shape," says Victor van Turenhout. "Spain and Egypt have gone on very long this season and that has caused problems and large stocks in the market. Many people had gambled on a repeat of last year, but that did not come through this year."
"Meanwhile, volumes from Spain and Egypt are drying up and since there is not a lot of supply from South Africa either, I do expect the prices to rise in the coming weeks. South Africa is experiencing some good demand from the processing industry and in addition, this year's lemon crop is about 60% lower. It is therefore expected that there will be a severe shortage of lemons in the coming weeks."
"In the Western Cape, there have been big storms and a lot of flooding; that could also have drive up prices. We are also getting lemons in from Argentina, but that season has been delayed due to the rains. Due to a good local and US market, there have been significantly fewer lemons coming this way from Argentina anyway. Currently, it is extremely cold in Argentina. Some regions are even experiencing frost and snow, which has again delayed the harvest."
"Regarding oranges, South Africa also has a smaller crop, especially with Navels. There is good demand for the big sizes, and demand for smaller sizes is still a bit behind. There is still a reasonable supply from Egypt, but once those are off the market, I expect demand for small sizes will also increase," Victor continues.
He thinks prices are reasonably good, but not comparable to last year. "Back then, one could sell Valencia's from Egypt for 17–18 euros per box. They bring in half that amount now. Prices for South Africa are at good levels, though. But we do see the effects of the current economic situation. In recent years, things were booming, partly because of the low interest rates. Now, you can notice that consumers are paying more attention to the little things."
OV Fruit, the company owned by Victor and his brother Oscar, has been functioning for almost two years. "We are very satisfied. Thing have been going very well, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers and suppliers for all their support."
For more information:
Victor van Turenhout
OV Fruit
Mob: +31 (0)619944614
[email protected]
www.ovfruit.nl