With fewer kilos available, growers and marketers see an opportunity to defend prices more effectively, but warn that profitability will depend on prioritising quality and avoiding a rushed start to the market.
The persimmon season is beginning with lower supply than initially expected, and that reduced availability should help support the value of the product.
At the Ordinary General Assembly of the Spanish Persimmon Association, its President, Pascual Prats, put the initial production potential at around 320–330 million kilos. Even before the latest damage, reductions of 12–14% had already been applied, equivalent to between 15 and 20 million kilos less. He also adds an initial estimate of a further 30–35 million kilos affected by hail, although he stresses that it will be necessary to wait before knowing the actual volume that reaches the market. The figure currently being considered is around 270 million kilos.
Hail is not the only factor. Prats points out that the impact of pests and quality losses still has to be assessed, as both could reduce the volume of marketable fruit. Second-class fruit is therefore once again one of the weak points of the season: the cost of producing a kilo barely changes, but the return certainly does.
Inma Torregrosa, Vice-President of the Association, believes it is essential to prevent heavily damaged fruit from putting pressure on the market. In this context, Prats stresses the importance of agricultural insurance, which he estimates covers around 95% of production. “Anyone who does not take out insurance can easily be ruined,” he says.
Fewer kilos, greater pressure on prices
Lower supply also comes against a backdrop of rising costs. Diesel, energy and labour are making the season more expensive, while it is becoming increasingly difficult to find qualified workers.
“Costs are higher and we cannot give the fruit away,” Torregrosa sums up. The Vice-President points to pressure from buyers ahead of the start of harvesting and argues that the sector must convey a common message: there is less product available and it costs more to produce.
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Prats agrees that this is not a year to rush. Without excess supply, he believes there is room to distribute volumes more evenly throughout the season and begin only when the fruit has reached the appropriate quality. “If we have good quality, we can demand a good price,” he says.
Torregrosa adds that some retail chains have broadened the range of fruit sizes they are willing to handle, a sign that retailers perceive limited availability. She also stresses that “persimmon consumption is increasing every year and major retailers are asking for more and more volume.”
A problem that goes beyond this season
The current commercial situation coexists with a structural concern. According to Prats, the crop once covered between 18,000 and 18,500 hectares, whereas today it stands at around 14,000–14,200 hectares. “We have fallen by 25% or 30% in area over the last five or six years.”
He explains that this decline is the result of a combination of higher costs, more pests, fewer crop protection tools and a lack of generational renewal. “It is more expensive, more complicated and more vulnerable to pests. And then there is the issue of generational renewal.”
