Real oranges make the difference

"2020 is a strange orange year," says Giorgos Stergiou. "Because of the coronavirus pandemic, many producers in Greece prepared for greater demand and consequently higher prices."

They then also started the season with unusually high prices, says Stergiou, who helped set up our partner company Anyfion on site and organizes the export of our oranges. "The joy over the high prices lasted only briefly."

Why? In large parts of Greece there has been relatively little rain this year. Little rain means smaller oranges. "On a pallet with large oranges, many producers currently have about five small ones," says Giorgos Stergiou. That alone would not be too bad and happens from time to time.

In recent years the producers solved this problem by selling as many of the small oranges as possible to hotels, restaurants and cafés, which press fresh juice from them for their customers. This market has collapsed due to a nationwide lockdown. Supermarkets remain interested only in large fruits. The only buyer for the small oranges is the juice industry and it pays poorly. That is why orange prices in Greece fell very quickly this year.

We export more than ever before

The EU permission to export oranges of any size, color and shape therefore could not have come at a better time. Unlike most other producers in Greece, the farming families who work with us can now even sell more fruit than before at a good price. How much more, Stergiou and his team calculate after the first exports.

The pandemic nevertheless did not pass the families by without leaving a trace. The first major challenge they faced: harvest workers. Entry and travel within Greece are made more difficult due to the lockdown.

The state government requires anyone who employs harvest workers to submit a form to the authorities for them daily. In addition, harvest workers are only allowed to travel in small groups.

This is more cumbersome than before, but feasible for Anyfion and the farming families, Stergiou says. One of the producers worries him more. He has no e-banking and, because of the lockdown, does not dare to go to the bank or post office to initiate payment for the workers.

Paying the workers in cash instead is not a solution. Because the payment of harvest workers must be made via so-called pay tickets, Stergiou explains. These tickets ensure that the workers are legally employed and that social contributions are paid. At the time of the interview for this blog post, Stergiou had not yet found a solution to the problem.

How many oranges are needed for 13 kilos?

When changing the oranges' sorting process, there were fortunately fewer challenges than expected. Only at the start of the harvest did the new freedom in exporting the fruits cause a bit of confusion. The long-time employees could suddenly no longer rely on their trained eye.

Over the years they had learned approximately how high to fill the crates to reach 13 kilos. With the different sizes of the fruits, estimating is no longer as easy, as Stergiou says.

Now that the first trucks are filled and on their way to us, the team has settled back in and developed a sense for the variety of the real oranges. We are curious to see what the crates will look like.

Real oranges can be pre-ordered in our shop. The first boxes are already on their way, but we will still accept orders for the first delivery until 13.12.2020. The deadlines for the deliveries in January and February are 19.01.21 and 16.02.21, respectively.

Show us #RealOranges

We are curious to see what our real oranges look like! Share a picture of your orange delivery with the hashtag #RealOranges on social media or with us via email at [email protected].