By Francisco Seva Rivadulla
Citrus imports in the European Union (EU) are causing a large oversupply in the market. According to the Valencian Association of Farmers, the largest organization of agricultural producers in Spain, a new record of 2,198,146 tons of citrus were exported to the EU from January to October 2020. This represents an increase of 15.4% over the same period last year. The imports include lemons, oranges, mandarins, limes and grapefruit.
The leading citrus supplier to the EU is South Africa, accounting for 44% of total imports. During 2020, South Africans sent 968,640 tons of citrus to the EU, an increase of 24.8% compared to the previous campaign. The Valencian Association of Farmers report that this growth occurred especially in late mandarins, which coincide with the early varieties of the Valencian growers.
The second largest citrus exporter to the EU is Egypt, which exported 334,354 tons, or 16% more than in 2019, due to the planting of thousands of hectares of oranges driven by the dam on the Nile River.
The third largest supplier of citrus to the EU is Turkey with 190,294 tons. Turkey’s citrus exports to the European Union grew at a rate of 49.5% in 2020.
“Social dumping is being committed in the European Union, as these countries do not have the same production costs that we have in Spain. It is vital to increase phytosanitary inspections to them, to prevent pests and diseases from entering Europe, which can seriously damage our citrus,” said Cristóbal Aguado Laza, president of the Valencian Association of Farmers.
The region of southeastern Spain has announced the creation of the Bureau of Citrus Murcia, a body created at the behest of the Ministry of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Environment. The bureau is intended to be a forum to analyze the problems affecting citrus in this Spanish region. It will analyze promotion, internationalization, the price crisis, competition from other countries, innovation and more.
“This is a very important body to improve organization and structure of the Murcia citrus sector and also to improve the competitiveness and profitability of the citrus industry,” said Alfonso Gálvez Caravaca, secretary general of ASAJA Murcia.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, several European citrus crops, including oranges, are forecast to increase in size. Read more.
Francisco Seva Rivadulla is an international agri-food journalist.
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