One of the first things to recognise is that when it comes to soft citrus you are talking big business.
As a category, its added convenience offer has given it considerable emphasis with consumers, and as a result, according to TNS figures, its sales are now well outstripping the traditional orange.
However, because of the vast range of varieties, which can differ widely in taste, shape, and colour, the comparative merits of specific easy peelers have always been subject to debate.
The term easy peelers, while being a wonderful generic descriptive term, covers satsumas, clementines, mandarins, tangerines and a great deal more. Ideally the fruit is described as having skin that “comes off as easily as a kid glove”.
In retrospect the concept of easy peeling fruit did not start to become a serious issue until some 20 years ago.
Previously, when the term convenience was on the lips of buyers and growers, there was more interest in sourcing supply beyond the winter domain of the Mediterranean, a region dominated by the Spanish.
This is best reflected in the days when satsumas held the high ground in the UK, peaking during the Christmas period. The fruit also came early onto a denuded October market, helped by degreening. It had another key advantage for the grower, the simple fact that satsumas were easier to produce, more prolific, and, probably more importantly, cheaper than clementines.
Initial UK interest in the latter, it could be argued, increased because clementines provided a further two months sales from January. Aside from Spain, there were sources such as Morocco, which historically exported most of its fruit to France, and a pocket of production in Cyprus. At this point, Israel had yet to make any real impact.
However, when it came to the summer months, there were yawning gaps in continuity. An indication of this is evident in the 1970s when Australia saw an opportunity to ship Ellendales to the UK in July.
In those days, South America was more or less an unknown quantity, and South Africa was only beginning to adjust to new market demands. A report from Pretoria in 1992 speaks glowing of nearly two million trees that had been planted over the previous decade which have a potential capacity to produce five million cartons.
Today the situation is far removed from 13 years ago.
The Mediterranean has continued to expand with Turkey and Greece now also major players. The times when there were major peaks of production in Spain have been ironed out on commercial grounds.
The summer months, meanwhile, have been filled by South Africa, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina.
There is virtual year round availability across the varietal spectrum with over 20 countries, both large and small in the battle to get fruit onto the UK multiple shelves.
The easy peeler market in total, according to TNS was worth £257m in 2004, when a volume of 151,785 tonnes was consumed in the UK. Oranges by comparison were worth £160m for 125,472t.
According to estimates from the Mediterranean Citrus Liaison Committee (CLAM), at its annual conference last October in Antakya, the EU total production of easy peeler types is 4,793,000t, up from 4,172,000t on the previous year. But within that, there is evidence that satsumas are continuing to slip.
The current forecast suggests EU tonnage is in the region of 540,000t, dwarfed by clementines at 2,393,000t. Mandarins contribute a further 972,000t, ortanique types 59,000t, and other varieties make up the balance.
When viewed in export terms the differential is even more noticeable. Only 290,000t of satsumas are traded internationally, compared with 1,329,000t of clementines, and 166,000t of mandarins. Ortaniques, while miniscule at 44,000t, fare better as some 70 per cent are grown for export.
Richard Browne, citrus buyer at Marks & Spencer, says: “There has been a trend towards clementines for a number of years. We always believed that they provide a better eating experience and this year, we’ve seen our easy peel market share grow by five per cent.
“We endeavour to offer satsumas, clementines and mandarins all year round but there are still some pockets of non-availability. For example, we have just finished Turkish satsumas and there will be a gap until we start from the southern hemisphere in March.”
Browne agrees that selection is complex as varieties can perform differently from year to year. “Spanish clemenvilla (mandarin) and South African Fairchilds (clementine) always stand out from the crowd,” he says.
“Market research indicates that some customers do not know the difference between easy peelers. A lot will buy satsumas as they are the easiest to peel and generally more seedless than the others and therefore more suitable for children. However, we did introduce our clementines as seedless for the first time this Christmas.”
M&S classifies ortalines and ortaniques as mandarins, but it does not say on labels that mandarins are easy to peel.
However, according to Lee Harper, fruit buyer for Asda: “Satsumas will still outsell clementines by at least 30 per cent given the same price.”
Asda sells approximately 2.5m 15kg boxes of easy peelers a year and is estimated to have a 17.5 percent share of the market by volume. The best varieties, Harper says, are clementines - oronules, orogrande, clemenules, Fina, Or, Nour, Fortuna and Afourer. Meanwhile, the top mandarins are Nova, clemenvilla, Suntina, Mor, satsuma, and Owari.
However, he points out that consumption trends are affected by the fact that satsumas are not always available.
“The reasons they are wanted,” he says, “are because customers are familiar with the name. They are seedless and truly easy to peel, so kids like them. They are also generally cheaper although as world production is declining this may change.”
Tesco citrus buyer, David Chamberlain, is in agreement. “We sell in the region of 4.5m cases or 70m packs of soft citrus each year,” he says.
“But the trend away from satsuma is more in terms of production, rather than UK consumer demand. Our customers are showing no signs of moving away from satsumas, and we are actively encouraging our suppliers to plant more.”
Where there is more agreement is over the more confusing aspect of other soft citrus. “There are dozens of different varieties,” says Harper. “When given a choice we sell the best available - seedless, sweet and easy to peel are the drivers of choice.
“Not all, such as ortaniques, are really easy peelers,” he says. This fact underlines another area of confusion, as while this variety actually originated in Jamaica in 1920 and is trade marked, variations are grown in several other countries.
In Cyprus it is known as the Mandora, Israel as Topaz, South Africa, Tambor and in Honduras as Ormanda.
In Morocco it has become an important variety known as Ortaline, and even in Spain, despite its preference for the true clementine, over half a million trees were first planted in the early 1990s.
“That’s why its better to refer to them as mandarins or soft citrus,” points out Harper. “They are not easy to peel at all and are better if cut with a knife.”
Ironically, however, Chamberlain adds: “While sales are less, the flavour often tends to be better.”
It is perhaps surprising that with their varying attributes, there has not been greater segmentation of the category.
Most fruit is sold either loose or prepacked in nets. Asda tested a transparent pyramid pack some years ago, along with 2.5kg gift boxes of clementines, still attracted to the leaf. “But we found they generally offered poor value compared to the standard lines,” says Harper.
Last Christmas Marks & Spencer sold Moroccan clementines with guaranteed sweetness, and this may point the way to the future.
Sainsbury’s confirmed there is demand for both major types. It sells Taste the Difference extra sweet easy peelers between November and March, and clementines with leaves over Christmas.
However a spokeswoman admitted that sourcing year round might be more difficult. “There is always one type available, and we are always looking at new varieties entering the market place. Presently some of the better varieties include clemenules, Nour, Afourer, Or and Mor.”
However, customers it claimed were not confused over the different varieties. “They trust us,” she says. “Due to demand and the variety of countries that produce soft citrus you get different flavours, the key is to make them consistent for the consumer.”
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