The yellow gold of Sicily is in crisis. For the 2023/24 harvest, orange prices are expected to rise sharply. The prices of raw materials and the summer weather in October weigh.

The citrus sector, the flagship of the Sicily region, is in crisis. Farmers have sounded the alarm and the risk is a collapse not only of the citrus harvest but of the entire supply chain and the regional economy. The 2023/24 arancicola campaign in south-eastern Sicily, already started a couple of weeks ago with early varieties, seems to confirm the trend of the increase in prices, caused by the increase in raw materials (energy, fertilizers, diesel) and the drought due to the summer climate and fires.

The orange harvest has started a few weeks ago, but in Sicily the prospects for this season are far from rosy. Farmers have sounded the alarm: fruit consumption is declining, the proof they have already had with summer fruit. Minus 30% in the face of costs that – given what is happening with the bills – only increase. And for a sector that employs at least 18 thousand people, there is a risk that picking fruit is less convenient than letting it rot on trees. The crisis is due to a number of factors, a decline in production, low prices due to the import of fruit from abroad of poor quality, an increase in raw materials.

The alarm concerns the entire supply chain: not only those who own farms, but also those who pack or transform into jams and juices those citrus fruits that cannot be sold at retail.

Sangaspano and arancia Gaspanella for the 2023/2024 campaign decided to make an effort, taking on the increased costs, in order to help our customers buy citrus fruits

The prices of oranges purchased through the adoptions of citrus trees on our site adotta.gaspanella.it they are locked to 2022. Therefore there will be no increase until 2024!

In terms of cultivation, our commitment continues to plant 15,000 trees in Sicily, of which 5,500 have already been planted. In the coming weeks, soil preparation will begin for planting about 1000 new citrus and avocado trees in the spring.