Spain estimates down; Morocco also drastically lower; Turkey may fill gaps Importers are expecting an early finish to the winter citrus season through a combination of poor growing conditions and bumper crops last year. Some trade sources believe that the market could be "red hot" if late varieties of both oranges and easy peelers fail to materialise. Spanish estimates at the start of the season, which pointed to a reduction of between 10% and 25%, according to type, have already been revised downwards. Varieties such as Fortuna, Ellendale and Ortaniques, normally shipped later, are already appearing on UK supermarket shelves. While there were deep price cut promotions for Navelinas as these come to a close, the question is whether there will be sufficient later hybrids followed by Valencia Lates in the weeks ahead. There would also appear to be few alternatives from other sources. The Moroccan crop here has also been drastically reduced with a 21% fall for oranges, and easy peelers down by as much as 40%. Turkish fruit, on the other hand, may be able to fill some gaps as it is one of the few Mediterranean sources where export increases have been forecast, even though the crop is some 10% lighter. - Safeway introduced another lesser known orange into its premium selection, priced at 99p for a four traypack this week. It is the traditional Italian Tarocco, which has become Italy's favourite blood orange, surpassing other types such as Moro and Sanguinello. {{M/E FRESH PRODUCE }}

Topics