Month by month
Spanish oranges in January, all four in window
January is the only month in which all four of our varieties sit inside their regional window at the same time. It is also the month they change places. The clementine finishes in the second fortnight and the late navel starts in it, so a January order placed early and one placed late are not describing the same fruit at all.
The figures
| Month | January |
|---|---|
| On the tree in this area | Clementina Clemenules, Navel Foios, Navel Lane Late, Navelina |
| Varieties in window | 4 |
| Windows overlapping | Four, the widest point of the campaign |
| Change inside the month | Clemenules closes and Navel Lane Late opens, both in the second fortnight |
| Weekly market observations we hold | ISO weeks 2 to 5, with all five published series quoted |
What it changes on an order
You want several varieties on one delivery
January is the only month of the year where that question has four possible answers here. Name the varieties in the enquiry rather than a quantity, and the reply will tell you which combination is real for your week.
Your programme continues into February
What fills the last week of January is not what filled the first. Agree now which substitution you accept, because the handover is inside the month and not at the boundary where a contract expects it.
You are checking a quote against the published market
Every series the European Commission publishes for Spanish oranges is quoted through these weeks, which does not happen again later in the campaign. It is the cleanest month of the year for a reference check.
What this note does not settle
- Four windows open on the regional calendar is a statement about the area and the cultivars. Whether four lots reach a packing line in the same week is a separate question with a separate answer.
- The market figures are Spanish national averages at the ex-packaging stage. They describe a market and they are not an offer from us.
- The fortnight boundaries come from the generic window for l'Horta. Our own picking dates are still pending and will be published campaign by campaign.
Source: European Commission, fruit and vegetables market observatory
Why the widest month is also the trickiest
Four windows open at once reads like the easiest month of the year to buy in, and it is the month where a buyer is most likely to write something that stops being true halfway through. The overlap is real. What it is not is stable, because the clementine reaches the end of its run in the same fortnight the late navel begins its own.
A January order therefore needs a week on it and not just a month. Name the ISO week you want the fruit collected or delivered and the reply can be specific. Name the month and you get an average of two different situations, which is the kind of answer that reads well in January and costs money in February.
The one stretch where the published market is complete
Every series the European Commission publishes for Spanish oranges and clementines carries observations through these weeks. Later in the campaign the variety lines stop one by one, and by high summer the national average is the only one still running. If you want to check a quote against something published rather than something claimed, this is the part of the year when the check has material to work with.
Treat it as background and stop there. The figures are national averages for fruit leaving the packing station, which is the whole of Spain at a single stage of the chain. Reading them as a Valencia price, or as an offer from us, is the error this note exists to prevent. Our own price is quoted against a destination, a week and a specification.
Talk to the grower
Tell us the variety, the sizes and the delivery week you need. You get a delivered price and what we can commit to in writing, from the person who picks the fruit.
The grower handles enquiries. Response times are still to be confirmed.