The Spanish citrus export industry shipped to the US this week its first 2,500-tonne consignment of clementines of the season, as the 2008/09 Valencian citrus deal gets well underway.
“The ban which the US imposed on Spanish clementines some years back is now firmly a thing of the past,” explained Juan Manuel Mesado, a spokesperson for the Unión de Llauradors, the regional agriculture association for Valencia.
“Having said that, I should point out that exporters have still made great efforts in order to meet the strict import protocol established by the US six years ago,” Mr Mesado added.
Valencia expects to harvest around 310,000 tonnes of the clemenule variety this season – more than half of the region’s crop.
In total, the industry is looking forward to a 600,000-tonne citrus crop in 2008/07, according to the Unión de Llauradors, which represents a 1.5 per cent increase on volumes achieved last season.
“Recent rainfall has benefited the citrus crop since the groves have absorbed more water which is positive news for fruit sizes,” Mr Mesado said.
