“Intercitrus was founded in 1993 and is an association which groups together all parts of the Spanish citrus industry: from marketers to growers and co-ops to processors. It is financed by its members and also receives some public funding.
The EU takes up 90 per cent of our oranges and clementines and the UK is considered the fourth largest market after Germany, France and Spain.
Each country is different, but in the UK consumption is lower than in the rest of the EU15. Within that orange consumption is virtually static or even on a slight downward trend, while clementine consumption is rising. It is difficult to tell where consumer preference will lead in the future, but at the end of last season, the UK was clearly a good consumer of soft citrus: Spain sent 283,000 tonnes of citrus to the UK last season and 130,000t of that was soft citrus, 30,000t of which were satsumas. One of the secrets to our success in Spain is that we have a broad range of varieties so we can supply almost any market, however special or demanding it might be.
We have been targeting the UK market for the last few years with a TV advertising campaign in conjunction with the Spanish foreign trade office, Icex. Basically this involves the broadcast of a spot directed at our key audience: those who are responsible for buying the household groceries in families with children under 14.
The results of the campaigns are satisfactory in meeting their objective to disseminate the message of good eating quality and healthiness of Spanish oranges and clementines. To this end, our message has reached millions of UK and European homes to the point that 65 per cent of consumers surveyed have rated our advertising campaigns as good or very good.
Our main aim in the Spanish citrus industry is to continue to dominate the European market. But in order to do that we must keep working to modernise our production base and its structures if we are to continue to be able to offer the best quality product with great service and at a price that is competitive. That said, one of the challenges we in the citrus sector, and others in fruit more generally, must take on is to make consumers aware of the scientifically proven advantages in increased citrus consumption.
R&D is also a priority area and at Intercitrus we are collaborating with the Valencia institute of agricultural research - Ivia - on a research and development project to bring new, late, citrus varieties to market so that we can extend our citrus season.
In Spain, we want to keep our market-leading position: one which we have held since the beginning of the last century. A fortunate geographical location and membership of the EU as well as our know-how, which combines traditional knowledge with intensive use of new technology, will all ensure we remain at the top of the tree as long as we continue to produce good quality fruit."
INTERACTIVE PRUNING
The regional agriculture executive in Valencia has developed a video-game to train citrus growers in pruning and thinning using interactive techniques.
According to the authority, in creating the game it is responding to the need for on-going training for citrus producers. “It is part of our plans to transfer the most modern technology resulting from agricultural research to our growers and farmers,” the authority reportedly commented.
Twice-yearly courses on the subject offered by the authority are among the most popular with the best take up rate. “That is why we developed this programme, so as to reach those growers who could not access the courses due to the limited number of places available.”
The course is being distributed free of charge on-line, via the agricultural executive’s website throughout the Valencia region.
And depending on the success of the project, the regional authority will look into going down the same route to provide training in other agricultural activities.
The programme was developed through a graduate employment opportunity project at the Valencia regional government.
SPANISH CITRUS STAYS STRONG
Demand for Spanish citrus, especially easy peelers shows no signs of abating. Despite competing with supplies from elsewhere around the Mediterranean, Spain’s proximity to its core marketplace and awareness of a need to develop new markets - such as North America for its clementines - stand it in good stead.
One of the main changes on the horizon is the possibility of more citrus plantings. The reform of subsidies to cotton producers under the EU’s common agricultural policy could encourage former cotton growers into citrus. More plantings - particularly of oranges - could materialise given the suitability of both the climate and existing irrigation systems. The changes are afoot mainly in Andalusia which has been increasing its citrus acreage steadily year on year. There has also been significant investment in the region in processing plant and machinery for the production of orange juice.
The area devoted to production of Navelina and Valencia Late is more or less stable at around the 50,000ha and 21,000ha marks respectively. However, acreage of Lane Late and Navel Late is increasing with Lane Late showing the most spectacular growth from 1,789ha 10 years ago to some 20,000ha forecast for this season. Meanwhile Washington Navel is declining and acreage this season is likely to be less than half that of 10 years ago.
The pattern of increasing acreage being devoted to easy peel continues. Clementines as well as hybrids are showing the most growth whereas satsuma acreage is running at only about half the level of 10 years ago.
The UK’s preference for satsumas is well documented and Spanish figures reflect that. A quarter of UK imports of Spanish easy peelers were satsumas last season compared to a tenth in the German market. In volume terms, the UK and Germany are level-pegging in first place as leading export markets for Spanish satsuma types each taking some 30,000 tonnes a season (Source: Intercitrus, USDA).
