Cyprus’ membership of the European Union will favour the citrus fruit sector, says Ioannis Shekeris, commercial counsellor from the Cyprus Trade Centre in London.
Before joining the EU, citrus and other agricultural exports were state-controlled and incurred heavy taxes.
Since May, these have been abolished and Cypriot exporters are now able to promote their activities to the other 24 EU members. Shekeris says that exporters, packers and producers have recognised the importance of high quality throughout the production chain.
“With the enforcement of integrated crop production and EurepGAP certifications, which covers 60 per cent of the sector now, Cypriot citrus production is able to fulfil the expectations of the European market place,” he says. Five citrus grower groups/organisations have already been recognised by the ministry of agriculture and issued with certificates of recognition; Cyprus Fresh Citrus Sedigep, Fassouri Growers Group Lionheart, Etairia Esperidocalliergiton Genesis, Etairia Esperidocalliergiton Genesis Persefoni and Golden Tree Growers Group.
This recognition is significant for citrus growers as they will receive benefits in promoting and marketing their produce collectively, as well as be entitled to financial assistance in juice production of citrus products.
In addition to these, a further two grower groups and one producer organisation have been set up; Greenfields citrus producers, Horizon citrus producers and Sedigep Argaka citrus producer organisation. “These organisations are the heart of the industry,” says Shekeris, “and the EU subsidies support the use of citrus in the processing sector. By forming a group they work best to achieve common objectives and are also in a better position to withstand sector pressures.”
Cyprus citrus production is still concentrated in the south west of the island near Limassol, Paphos and Nicosia in the west, covering 5,400 hectares - 1,830ha of oranges, 2,000ha of mandarins, 720ha of grapefruit and 850ha of lemon.
Production estimates for this season are encouraging - 40,000 tonnes of oranges, 36,000t of mandarins (Mandora, Tangelo Minneola, Nova, Ortanique, Arakapa and Clementine), 28,000t of grapefruit and 22,000t of lemons.
In 2003, Cypriot citrus fruit exports started in early October and ran through to July this year - 73,757t were sent in total, up on the 2002 volumes of 70,755t. Last season the major export market was the EU, which took 88 per cent, of which 27 per cent was sent to the UK. Mandora volumes were largest accounting for almost one third of sendings, followed by grapefruit (21,523t), Valencia late oranges and lemons (10,000t). In comparison, this season’s production is forecast to be 40,000t of oranges, 36,000t of mandarins, 28,000t of grapefruit and 22,0000t of lemons.
Shekeris says that the island has finally received plentiful rainfall at the beginning of November. “That was very good for the orchards. We expect to export 75,000t this season, slightly more than 2003, and quality is looking good. It has been a slower start this season, but in the past growers had the tendency to export seedless grapefruit, for instance, too early, when the fruit was not quite ready in terms of juiciness and acid/sweet ratio. In the last two-three years however, growers and exporters have become patient and given priority to earlier harvested pigmented grapefruit, and wait longer for the seedless variety to mature properly.”
The UK is a major export market for Cyprus and its share is typically 27-28 per cent, but other markets such as Italy are also important. The Czech Republic, Russia and Croatia are gaining in importance, as is Hong Kong, which is proving to be a good market for early sendings of lemons.
New season arrivals of lemons and grapefruit into the UK marketplace started at the end of October. Total export volumes, as at November 3 were 1,443t of grapefruit and 1,722t of lemons.
Shekeris adds: “Previously growers would rush to fill the gap in the market place as southern hemisphere supply shortened, sending the grapefruit when it was not at its best. Now they have come to realise that it is not good practice to send sour grapefruit to the UK, and is better to wait for the fruit to acquire the desired characteristics and colour, and to export the grapefruit in November rather than early October. This is better for everybody.”
Production conditions so far have favoured crops, as the summer was dry and reservoir levels high to overflowing so that orchards have been well irrigated. Grapefruit stands to benefit significantly from the drastically reduced Florida crop as Cyprus primarily produces pigmented varieties such as Ruby Red. “The grapefruit season started better this year because of the overall shortage in the global market,” says George Ioannides, managing director of Amagio Enterprises in Limassol, Cyprus. “The US supply base is low this season because of hurricane damage and the demand for grapefruit will be strong - we do not expect prices to drop in December/January, like they usually do, but to be maintained until May.”
Grapefruit volumes are slightly up on 2003, and the fruit is already available in the UK, Italy, Germany, Austria and France. Amagio grows 12,000t of which 75 per cent will be exported and the remainder sold to juicers and for local consumption. Approximately one third of volumes grown are sent to the UK to supply all major supermarkets, except for Asda. “Our quality is good this season and prices for white grapefruit are 900p and red 1000-1100p. We started sending in mid-October and we plan to run the season to mid-May,” says Ioannides.
Amagio’s growing region is on 10ha west of Limassol and the group also buys from two producer organisations formed since Cyprus joined the EU. The majority of competition for Cypriot citrus exporters comes from Israel, but this year, says Ioannides, competition should not be too strong because of the little supply available and the market should be favourable for both countries.
Besides grapefruit, 45 per cent of the Mandoras grown are exported to UK, Italy, France, Sweden, China and Canada. The Mandora season will start in January until early April, with 5,000t expected, although it is too early in the season to predict performance for the variety. “There are certain question marks regarding this variety as a big crop is expected from Spain this year,” says Ioannides. “Our quality is excellent because we have had good irrigation from good rainfall. Early forecasts say that there may be an oversupply this season but we’ll wait and see.”
Lemon production for Amagio should be 1,000t but volumes are expected to be abundant this season, with a good crop from Turkey affecting lemons prices and increasing competition for Cypriot growers; both countries’ seasons run concurrently from October to late January. A good season is also anticipated for Valencia oranges from February to May with production levels at 1,000t.
Ioannides says: “Production is good and more varieties have been planted in the last few years, in particular Nucellar, and further plantings are planned for the years to come. Every year an extra 50ha have been planted as we replace older trees by Nucellar varieties that are better in size and colour, although we are still growing older varieties of Valencia. We foresee good demand for Valencia this season.”
Since Cyprus joined the EU, Ioannides says that the level of paperwork has significantly increased, to the extent that more people have been employed to maintain the traceability requirements set by EurepGAP. “Many of us are undergoing EurepGAP certification and trying to get BRC and Nature’s Choice accreditation, which is an expensive process. Additionally, freight has become more expensive with the rising price of oil impacting the cost of production too.
“Being an island, shipping is the only transportation option available to us. The cost per container has risen by 30 per cent in the last year, to $2,500 for the same container compared to $1,800 this year,” says Ioannides.
“If this had been a normal supply season, then we may not have exported if prices had been lower - we would have supplied the juicers. Additionally if there are many easy peelers this year, this will also have a negative impact on price. All the subsidies we previously received have stopped since we joined the EU which makes it harder to compete with Israel and Turkey who still receive subsidies from their governments,” he says.
The future for the Cypriot citrus sector has a big question mark over it, adds Ioannides. “The youth here are not interested in working in agriculture and it is difficult to see where our industry will be in 10-15 years - government subsidies to entice young people into the sector are not enough. Agricultural land is being converted to develop property as land prices increase and orchards will decrease. With higher costs, it will be difficult to compete with other countries’ cheaper labour and water supply. We are still here because we have a strong focus on high quality which we will continue to put emphasis on.”
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