Despite the delayed beginning of the citrus season in Uruguay for 2023 however, they’re seeing early demand from two of their major markets: the U.S. and Europe. “This season we have an abundance of oranges coming from USA as well as Europe and the markets for easy peelers appears to be steady with respect to prices,” adds Monica Coito, from Uruguay’s Naranjales Guarino’s international sales department.
In spite of the delay in commencement due to the lengthy period of drought in Uruguay however, the quality of their fruit is good. “The harvest has been a bit slow, mainly because of the absence of cold temperatures in the evenings. The colors of the various cultivars was not sufficient therefore we needed to wait later to utilize the degreening procedure. Quantitatively, we anticipate comparable amounts to the year before.”
The main market they have for mandarins is in the U.S. Their primary customer for lemons and oranges is Europe. The group exports approximately 400 containers of lemons per season. In the previous year, Uruguayan lemons exports were 13,600 tons. For this year, about 8,000 tons have been forecast. The orange exports last year were 21,000 and this year’s estimate is as 23,000 tons. The exports of mandarins was around at 38,000 tonnes last year. the current figure is 32,000 tons. has been forecast by Upefruy Uruguay’s fresh food industry body.
“For the first week of the season to date we’ve harvested the Satsuma and Clementines as well as Clemenvilla mandarins and we’re now beginning the harvest for Tangelo Orlando. The week before we started, we harvested W.Murcott as well as Tangos. We were talking about Oranges and picking Navels and Navelinas last week, and we began by introducing Salustianas,” says Coito.
They’ve noted the slow end of the season in Spain leaving an unfilled market, and the difficulties South Africa faces with the stricter regulations within Europe. Coito adds that they are content with low shipping prices this season after several years of excessively high rates.
“These conditions assist us in our efforts to enter the market with a better product However, the primary aspect is the shipping costs for maritime transport that are less expensive than they were in the past two years. However, given that our product is vital to be consumed by families across the globe We believe we will need to work to cut the cost of production. To produce the fruit that is in line with the highest hygiene and high quality requirements of the market, it’s essential to spend a significant amount of cash in orchards during the entire year.”
The last time we looked, significant alternative markets in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine weren’t accessible to them due to the war. It has now opened up in Russia but Ukraine is more affected, says Coito.
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Monica Coito
Naranjales Guarino
Tel: +598 4733 3974
Email: mcoito@guarino.com.uy
www.guarino.com.uy/en
Source: The Plantations International Agroforestry Group of Companies