Spain’s orange and mandarin interprofessional will use funds to carry out promotion, R&D and plant health protection
Intercitrus, the interprofessional body for Spanish orange and mandarin producers, has welcomes the official approval of its request for a standard extension that will allow it to activate promotional campaigns, R&D projects, and actions aimed at plant health protection and the fight against pests and diseases.
Welcoming the decision, Intercitrus president Celestino Recatalá commented: “Today is a key day for Spanish orange and mandarin citrus farming. The willingness to engage in dialogue, the ability to reach broad consensus, and the tireless work demonstrated by all the professional associations that make up this interprofessional organisation are bearing fruit.
“This is just the beginning. From now on, we will implement the planned actions with unity and shared responsibility, because the challenges we face require an immediate, energetic, and decisive response”.
The application for an extension of the standard submitted by Intercitrus outlines several lines of action over the next five years, with an annual budget of approximately €5mn. The main allocation, representing between 55 per cent and 75 per cent of the budget, will go on improving the image of Spanish oranges and mandarins – both fresh and 100 per cent natural juice – and for promotional campaigns to encourage the consumption of Spanish oranges and mandarins in international markets.
Research and development, meanwhile, will focus on a comprehensive plant breeding plan to combat Huanglongbing (HLB), the application of gene-editing technologies, the development of new seedless varieties, and the strengthening of Integrated Pest Management. This area will receive 18-28 per cent of the total budget.
The remainder of the budget will be allocated to phytosanitary protection and the fight against pests and diseases. This will include collaboration with and reinforcement of surveillance programmes in the various autonomous communities that produce oranges and mandarins.
The collection method establishes a mandatory contribution of €0.0006/kg of oranges and mandarins for producers and marketers (equivalent to €1.2/tonne). To increase this budget, Intercitrus said it plans to apply for EU funding to finance promotional campaigns.
Recatalá highlighted the challenges facing the sector that Intercitrus is seeking to address: the increasing globalisation of trade, climate change, tighter margins and soaring production, an aging agricultural workforce, reduced consumption of Spanish oranges and mandarins, and a shortage of skilled labour.
Spanish citrus production has been on a downward trend for some years. The forecast for 2025/26 is for a total crop of 4.45mn tonnes, of which 2.72mn tonnes will be oranges and 1.73mn tonnes mandarins. This is the lowest volume in 16 years and represents a 30 per cent decrease on the 6.3mn tonnes produced in 2018/19.
Exports for 2024/25 totalled 2.36mn tonnes (1.29mn tonnes of oranges and 1.07mn tonnes of mandarins). Exports have fallen by 817,000 tonnes in the last ten seasons.
