Month by month
Spanish oranges in March, the handover month
March is the last month with a navel and a late navel both in window, and the overlap lasts a fortnight. Navelina closes in the first half, Navel Lane Late runs on into April, and from mid month our catalogue is down to one variety. A March enquiry is really two enquiries with two different answers.
The figures
| Month | March |
|---|---|
| On the tree in this area | Navel Lane Late, Navelina |
| Varieties in window | 2 |
| Window that closes | Navelina, first half of the month |
| Still running | Navel Lane Late, through to the second half of April |
| Weekly market observations we hold | ISO weeks 10 to 14, with the Navel series returning at week 12 after six blank ones |
What it changes on an order
You buy for juicing as well as for the shelf
Both varieties in window this month are listed for table and for juice, and that combination does not last. Say which use the fruit is going to before the first fortnight runs out, because after it there is one variety to say it about.
Your order spans the middle of the month
Split it at the fortnight rather than at the month end. A single line covering all of March is asking one price for two different cultivars and it will be answered twice anyway.
You are watching the published series for a floor
The Navel line comes back this month after a long blank stretch, and a series that reappears is not the same thing as a market that moved. Read the return as coverage rather than as a signal.
What this note does not settle
- A closing window does not mean the variety disappears from the market on that date. It means cutting stops in this area, and other regions run to other calendars.
- Which of the two varieties can actually be filled in a given week of March depends on the lot and not on the overlap drawn here.
- The market series is a national average at one stage of the chain. Reading it as a Valencia price or as our price is the mistake it is easiest to make.
Source: European Commission, fruit and vegetables market observatory
A fortnight where both varieties are real
The overlap in March is short and it is the last one of the campaign. Navelina finishes in the first half and Navel Lane Late carries on alone into April, so for roughly half the month a buyer has a genuine choice between a navel and a late navel, and for the other half there is nothing left to choose between.
That shapes how the order should be written. A line that says March and names a variety gets answered for the weeks the variety exists and queried for the rest of them. Split the month at the fortnight and price each half on its own. The reply comes back in one round instead of three.
A series coming back is not a market moving
The Commission's Navel line for Spain goes quiet for a long winter stretch and reappears in the middle of this month. Nothing dramatic happened in the interval. Weekly notification depends on there being a representative market to notify, so when a campaign thins the notifications thin with it, and the line on a chart does the same.
The trap is reading that return as news. A figure appearing after a blank run looks like a movement because nothing sits beside it for comparison. The blanks explain the shape of the chart more than the market does. For a direction of travel use the national average, which runs without interruption, and keep the variety lines for the weeks where they actually exist.
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.