The spring and summer have been warm, which has been good for both fruit consumption and the prevention of fungal diseases, such as botrytis. "Fruit is generally of better quality than last season," states Pedro Gil, manager of the Zaragoza-based company Agrícola Gil. "It's been a year with good sizes and good colouration, which helps us in marketing."
"Last year we had a colder summer in Europe and consequently lower demand. Furthermore, supply was concentrated and this led to a very sharp pressure on prices which resulted in a disastrous campaign. This year, although there have been some difficult weeks, the situation is certainly better. Prices have not reached the expected levels, but this year the goods have left the stores more smoothly," he explains.
Moreover, Pedro Gil notes that the aid granted for the market withdrawal of fruit due to the Russian veto has been very beneficial. "It has arrived on time and prevented last year's pressure."
However, it is also true that this year there has been more trouble to sell the large calibres, according to the producer. "There is a general improvement in demand, but consumers tend to look for cheap prices and therefore buy smaller fruit."
Regarding the expanding acreage of Paraguayo peaches in Europe, Pedro states: "At first we thought that with the large volume of Paraguayo peaches there was, it wouldn't be possible to sell everything, but we found that there is always room in the market for this fruit as long as quality is good."
Agrícola Gil, with a total volume of around 50,000 tonnes, sells 90% of its fruit in the domestic market, mainly to large retailers. The Zaragoza-based company will finish its stonefruit campaign in mid-September. At the moment they are harvesting and selling Golden apples and pears.
