Spain: Certain citrus sizes used to go to industry are now needed for the fresh market

Spain is the largest citrus producer in the European Union and the world's largest exporter of this fruit. "Our country harvests about 7 million tons of citrus, of which about 600,000 go to the processing industry every year," says a branch operator. "This year, as we all know, there is a significant drop in yields that will affect the amount of fruit going to the juice industry. In general, the juice industry in Spain takes all fruit that cannot be marketed fresh , with the exception of some specific cultivation projects intended solely for processing." "The product that cannot be sold on the fresh market represents approximately between 10 and 30% of a farm's harvest. That is the percentage that the juice industry can count on every year. But in a season like the current one, with almost 30% fewer oranges on the trees, sizes that used to go to the juice industry are now going to the fresh market. It's going to be a difficult season for us." Last year the situation was completely ...