The plum season is now in its final stretch with the harvest of the flagship Angeleno variety, which is gaining prominence in Europe and overseas thanks to its good supply and long shelf life in cold storage.
"We started harvesting the Angeleno last week, and we have already picked approximately 50% of our production," says Emiliano Andrade, Director of the Spanish company LEMA-LandFruit, based in the municipality of Don Benito, in the Extremadura region. "This is a variety that we can store and sell until late October and even early November, until the start of the Southern Hemisphere season."
© LandFruit
Extremadura is having a good plum season, according to Emiliano Andrade, with a slightly larger production than expected, greater than last year's.
"The rains in March raised fears about their possible impact on the flowering of early varieties, but that impact has eventually been limited. In general, we've had a normal production, with outstanding quality and only occasional hail-related incidents," said the Director of LEMA-LandFruit.
Andrade highlights the recovery of yellow plums, especially the Golden Globe, with good volumes and quality after last year's smaller production. In addition, he says that the first Black Splendor arrived overseas to empty shelves, reaching high prices at the start.
"However, the slowdown in sales led to oversupply and slower shipments. Although the sector was expecting a small gap in production for the varieties prior to the Angeleno, in the end, there has been more than expected, with plums such as the Larry Ann causing some slight market saturation in Europe, as there were no plans for more sales to overseas destinations," he says.
According to Andrade, prices have remained stable until now, with some variations depending on the fruit's size. "There has been a balanced response from the market, despite the ups and downs in demand."
"The big challenge remains the unreliability of international shipping routes, with long transit times, delays, and lack of service," says the LEMA-Landfruit director.
For more information:
Emiliano Andrade Rodriguez
LEMA-LandFruit
Tel.: +34 924 800 600
[email protected]
www.landfruit.es