The regulatory council increased the number of audits it carried out by one-third in 2025/26
The Regulatory Council of the Cítricos Valencianos (Valencian Citrus) PGI said it has carried out 33 per cent more audits this season, which much of the increase targeting operators and packing facilities.
By the end of the current season, it will have completed 70 audits to ensure the correct use of this quality designation – established in 1999 to certify oranges, mandarins, and lemons grown across the Valencian Community.
José Enrique Sanz, managing director of the PGI, said the measure also extends to field audits – which typically take longer – and applies to both private businesses and cooperatives. According to the regulatory council, rigorous controls and periodic inspections of the fruit, culminating in final certification to guarantee consumer traceability, are central to its mission.
The increase in the number of audits was announced as the 2025/26 season drew to a close. Final production figures will not be available until October, but initial indications are promising according to Sanz.
In a season marked by significant production losses – driven primarily by excessive heat last June and July, which caused fruit drop across Spain despite a strong bloom, as well as hailstorms in May and June in the provinces of Valencia and Castellón – the PGI aims to match last year’s results. Achieving this “would be very good news”, Sanz noted, “given that we are coming off a record-breaking season last year, when we reached a packed volume of 25,000 tonnes.”
Providing an overview of the sector’s general situation, Sanz said: “In a year with reduced yields, the volume of fruit processed in packhouses typically drops. This situation has helped keep prices strong, although demand within the sector has been intermittent – whereas normally, it would have been high”.
Regarding the PGI, Sanz stated that “demand has remained steady, our client base has held firm, and the presence and influence of our seal have grown. It is playing an increasingly prominent role in the sector, driven by distributors’ rising interest in certified-quality products – a category that includes Valencian citrus fruits”.
Promoting Valencian products
Sanz also emphasized the importance of continuing to invest in promotional campaigns aimed at both consumers and wholesalers to boost consumption – especially at a time when the market is seeing an influx of fruit from other regions. Regarding the Valencian government’s approval of funding to promote Valencian oranges – with a campaign scheduled to start in November – he said: “The fact that the Generalitat is allocating funds to promote citrus grown in the Valencian Community is cause for celebration. It is about championing what is ours and highlighting the value of our finest products”.
