Spain’s citrus sector has given its backing to proposals for the creation of a new rail line that would link the country’s major Mediterranean ports of Almería, Valencia and Barcelona and could potentially help exporters save on transport costs.
The Spanish authorities are currently seeking European Union support for the construction of the new rail project that, it is proposed, would run from Algeciras, Andalusia through Málaga to Gerona, close to the French border in Catalonia.
According to Protected Geographical Indicator (PGI) regulatory organisation Cítricos Valencianos, the high-speed link would provide a “huge help for the revitalisation of the citrus sector,” arguing that it would “improve the competitiveness” of Spain’s orange and clementine exports.
Cítricos Valencianos’ president, José Barres Gabarda, estimated that growers could save as much as €400 for every 20 tonnes of fruit that was currently transported by lorry to European markets through the creation of the Mediterranean rail line.
The project, he added, would be of “huge benefit to the entire citrus sector of the Valencian Community as it would contribute, in a decisive form, to improving the economic conditions that our producers are enduring by reducing export costs to European markets”.
