The Cítricos Valencianos PGI put in a solid performance in 2014/15 according to the label’s regulatory board.
“The orange season got underway with a positive start with Navelina fetching good prices up to the last week in November, at which point the market became oversupplied,” said the PGI’s managing director José Enrique Sanz. “The quality of Navel Lane Late was very good and prices were acceptable, while in later varieties such as Navel Powerll, Chislett and Barnfield it was a very good season both in terms of quality and prices as Valencia benefited from the shortfall in other producing regions in Spain.”
Sanz added that results in mandarins had also been satisfactory in spite of the heavy rains at the end of November causing some quality problems in clementines that resulted in a higher volume than usual being left unharvested.
“In late season mandarins, with the exception of Ortanique, I would say the season has been good,” Sanz continued. “Overall, I would describe the season as an acceptable tonic thanks largely to the excellent quality of the crop, highly prized by international buyers.”
The PGI increased its presence in European supermarkets this season, with Eroski and Carrefour agreeing to stock the label – the former across the whole of Spain via its Natur own brand and the latter in France, where organic PGI citrus was on sale in stores across Normandy and Brittany.
Speaking about Russia’s decision to extend its fresh produce import ban, Sanz noted that this was bad news for the Valencia’s citrus industry, which relies heavily on the Russian market.
