The Naveline orange campaign, the most popular citrus variety by far in the Region of Valencia, with 44% of the total production, is going through a disastrous moment that is causing multimillion losses to producers.
According to the Valencian Producers Association (AVA-ASAJA), these losses already surpass the 91 million Euro; a figure obtained from the prices paid since the month of October, which oscillated between 0.10 and 0.18 Euro/kilo, with production costs standing at 0.22 Euro/kilo. It was also taken into account that 30% of the harvest was not suitable to enter the market as fresh produce, and will either be sold to the processing industry for no more than 0.03 Euro/kilo or not be harvested at all.
The president of AVA-ASAJA, Cristóbal Aguado, considers the situation unacceptable, and believes "that this will surely lead to further abandonment of the crop." He also demanded for the administrations to "urgently agree on an intervention mechanism designed to palliate the effects of a crisis which is affecting thousands of citrus growers.
Crisis caused by larger production volumes and damaged appearance
The reasons for this crisis are mainly twofold. On the one hand, it is necessary to mention the 19% increase in production volumes compared to the previous campaign, and on the other hand, the extraordinary spread of a physiopathy called "clareta".
While the "clareta" does not have an impact on the fruit's internal quality, its effects on the skin are notoriously unpleasant to the eye, as it causes lumps, deformities and protuberances which make it impossible for the fruit to be marketed as fresh produce.
