A handful of desperate growers in the Valencia region of Spain have been picking and marketing immature Ortanique easy-peelers.
The move has dismayed industry leaders. “This variety should be picked between the end of February and the end of May as laid out in Intercitrus’s harvest calendar which was agreed by the whole sector,” said Cristóbal Aguado, president of growers’ association Ava-Asaja. “It is tantamount to defrauding consumers as the fruit does not meet the necessary quality parameters.
“They only want to get rich themselves at the expense of the whole citrus campaign,” added Aguado. “And in so doing, they are bringing other operators into disrepute and stitching up consumers.” He is calling for the growers responsible to be expelled from the sector.
