Piracicaba, 05 – Price rises of citrus fruits should be limited by higher supply in December. Although the availability of some varieties is currently low, higher supply of late oranges may limit price rises or even press down quotes, due to the competition with stone fruits (more consumed at the end of the year).
In December, supply of fruits out of the ideal period and of folha murcha oranges, very appreciated in the in naturamarket, should increase. In this scenario, growers believe the market will warm up again only from January onward, when the volume of oranges from the 2017/18 season should decrease and warmer weather may favor demand. On the other hand, school vacation may limit demand.
In November, low availability of pear oranges with the quality demanded by the in natura market underpinned prices. Thus, pear orange quotes averaged 19.97 BRL (6.1 USD) per 40.8-kilo box last month, on tree, 3.6% higher than in October, but 42.4% lower than in Nov/16, in nominal terms.
Late in the month, the in natura market was calm and prices, stable. Agents from the sector believe the end of the month may have affected consumption in this segment.
TAHITI LIME – Supply of large-sized tahiti lime is estimated to increase in December. With the rains in late November, the size and quality of the fruits still on tree should increase – the harvesting is forecast to start in the first fortnight of the month. Thus, many growers believe prices will drop. In November, however, lower availability pushed up prices by 1.4% compared to the same period of 2016, in nominal terms, averaging 59.25 BRL (18.17 USD) per 27-kilo box, harvested, last month.
This scenario of firm prices has hampered tahiti lime exportations, since, with the smaller volume of fruits in the ideal size for shipment, values are not considered very competitive in the international market.
PROCESSORS – At citrus processors from São Paulo, orange crushing in November was limited to late varieties. The price paid by processors in the spot market last month was around 18.00 BRL per box for the larger-sized processors and up to 19.00 BRL per 40.8-kilo box for the smaller-sized processors, with harvesting and freight included.
Source: hfbrasil.org.br