Lakonia: prices for Valencia oranges plunge

Producer prices for Valencia oranges in Lakonia are at historically low levels, according to a Notospress report of Friday 21 August 2026 at 06:54, which carries statements by producers to “Ypaithros Chora”. The price this year stands at 0.25 to 0.35 euros a kilo, when in the same period last year it ranged between 0.50 and 0.60 euros. At the same time, 30% of the crop is still on the trees and the harvest is expected to drag on until November. The producer Christos Anagnostakos describes the mood as follows: “There are no expectations for the period ahead. There is great uncertainty.” The fall, based on the ranges given, comes to about half of last year’s price.

He says that large quantities of Valencias remain unsold, that demand is moderate and that prices are the same as in May, meaning they have not seen the recovery that usually comes with the later part of the season. For juicing, the price stands at 0.10 to 0.12 euros a kilo. Petros Bletas argues that unless prices rise from 8 to 10 cents to 0.18 to 0.20 euros, juice businesses will disappear, and he proposes a subsidy for juice. Stelios Sarris, from a Producer Group, places this year not merely among the worst but as the worst, noting that exports are at very low levels and that the market is moving on foreign oranges.

The same report records two different explanations for the causes. Petros Bletas attributes the crisis to mistaken policy by exporters during the period when the Egyptians entered the market, while Stelios Sarris links it to imports of foreign oranges. There is also a divergence in the figures themselves: Sarris cites a current price of 0.35 euros, while Anagnostakos gives a range of 0.25 to 0.35 euros. Sarris adds that, given the point in the market year, a price of 0.35 euros in the current period is effectively the equivalent of selling at 0.20 euros in a normal period. The report includes no data confirming or ruling out either of the two interpretations, so the assessments remain the producers’ own views.

For Lakonia, where citrus growing is a basic source of income for a large number of farming households, a fall in prices of about half compared with last year translates directly into reduced earnings, at a time when the cost of harvesting remains. The fact that 30% of the crop is still on the trees means part of the produce will be sold at an even later point in the season. The report gives no official figures for the volume of this year’s crop, nor any position from a body or competent authority on the producers’ demands. More economic reporting in the Economy section. Nor does it say whether there has been any reaction from export businesses or from processors to what is described.