A leading Valencia-based fresh produce association has urged the region’s citrus exporters to take care when delivering citrus shipments this season, after reports that some fruit has arrived at markets in a poor state.

The damage, which has been detected in some orange and mandarin volumes, comes in the wake of persistent heavy rains that hit the country in October, reportedly delaying citrus harvesting.

As a result of these reports, the Valencian Farming Association (Ava-Asaja) has urged exporters and the Spanish authorities to implement rigorous inspections to ensure that the fruit is in an optimum state when it leaves Spain’s borders.

“Since the start of the campaign, we have suffered several consecutive weeks of heavy rains – as a result, the trees have not had time to dry and have remained excessively damp for many days, which has resulted in some shipments with an undesirable appearance,” said Ava-Asaja president Cristóbal Aguado.

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