Grapefruit monthly review: March 2020

March was marked by heavy logistical disruptions due to the Covid-19 epidemic in Europe. Hence incoming Spanish shipments were affected by reductions in harvesting and packing personnel. Israeli imports encountered similar problems, on top of recurrent shipping delays. Finally, Turkish shipment times were extended because of border closures. Nonetheless, unlike with other citruses, the grapefruit did not see a sudden increase in demand from week 12, when most European countries adopted lockdown measures. The sales tempo was greatly slowed by the loss of the wholesale segment and the closure of institutional canteens, especially for small sizes (50-55). Hence prices did not rise, and remained stable for all origins. The general situation proved no better for the tropical grapefruit: its sales tempo remained very slow too, with prices registering levels below their 2019 average.