Spanish Mandarin Guide

 Top 3 importers of Spanish Mandarin: Germany, France, and the UK

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Main Groups of Mandarins produced in Spain

• Satsuma: with origin Japan in Spain is used as early variety. Due to its juicy and not so much sweet fruit it is mainly used for juices. Good quality is that trees are resistant to cold.

• Hybrids contains mixture of variates, with focus on red color of peel, very sweet and juicy.

• Clementine: crossed between common mandarin and orange, it is small in size and sweet but with inconstant production. There are many varieties, some earlier than others.

• Clemenvillas: bigger and with a lot of juice. The harvest season lasts from September to February. Some varieties can be found until March or April.

• Orri: relatively new variety of mandarin grown in Spain, originating from Israel, robust, nicely colored, sweet, and seedless.

• Nadorcott is a high-quality, mid to late-maturing Clementine-type of mandarin. It is a fruit with excellent depth of flavor and sweetness and a pleasing acidity balance. The smooth, deep orange peel is fairly tightly adhering to the segments but is easily removed.

• Tangold (often marketed as Tango) is a late harvested, seedless mandarin. It has an excellent eating quality with great depth of flavor, a good acidity balance, and high levels of sweetness. It is a medium-sized fruit with a very smooth rind, deep orange, and easy peel. The shape is deeply oblate, and the flesh is delicately textured with high juice content.

• Climatic conditions. In subtropical climates, cold temperatures can result in higher amounts of total soluble solids (TSS) in fruits.
• Application of Plant Growth Regulators, can improve the size and set of Mandarins.
• Cultivar/Rootstock can improve the overall quality of the produce.
• Irrigation practices that sometimes are cultural can affect production and quality.
• Sunlight and Pruning. Maximum growth occurs when trees are exposed to high amounts of sunlight.
• Post Harvest Treatment

Source: 

The wholesale price of Spanish mandarins has plummeted to a 75.6% YoY following a downward trend of citrus prices in the country. Mandarin prices have gone from USD 3.5/kg in W2 of March in 2021 to USD 0.90/kg in the same week in 2022. Severe delays and expected shortages in national production, with an oversupply of non-European citrus in the market, have all caused Spanish citruses to critically decrease their value. The wholesale price of fresh Satsuma mandarin in Spain dropped 63.52% YoY to USD 1.21/kg in W3 of July-22, compared to the same period last year when it was USD 3.32/kg. A high volume of fresh mandarin from Egypt and Turkiey flooded the EU market, slowing sales and exports from Spain. Adverse weather also took its toll, with high temperatures shortening the season and decreased transportation labor availability due to drivers preferring to deliver less strenuous fruit and potatoes.