ORRION THEHORIZON

7 febrero, 2017

New premium mandarin variety Orri has big plans for grow thin the UK as plantings mature over the next five years. 

General Manager of the Orri committee Guillermo Soler speaks to Nina Pullman

Then is the Orri mandarin in season and what are the top export markets?

Guillermo Soler (GS): The season for the Orri mandarin in the northern hemisphere runs from January to May, with excellent internal and external qualities that give I ta long life. The Orri mandarin is a premium variety focused on markets that appreciate its exceptional and unique qualities

How important is the UK market and where is the growth potential for Orri? What volumes will you export to the UK this year?

GS: The UK market is very important! Because it is a large consumer of quality citrus fruit, which knows how to appreciate the citrus products with premium characteristic such as Orri.

The Orri is a variety recently incorporated on the European markets, and we think that as consumers get to know it, and especially taste it, they are going to choose its excellent flavour. In addition, we believe that this greater knowledge of the Orri mandarin by the British consumers is going to become pained by the increase in production that is going to take place in the next five years when all the plants reach adult age and are in full production. With respect to the value of exports of the Orri mandarin, we do not have specific data but the majority of the production is dedicated to exporting and the UK is one of the principal markets.

What partners or retailers do you work with in the UK?

GS: The main retailers that work with the Orri mandarin are those that have various categories of mandarins with different qualities – that is retailers that have a category of standard mandarins and another superior category of premium mandarins, which is where the Orri variety fits in.

How does Orri alongside other mandarins that are in season in the UK market at the same time?

GS: In the case of the Orri, as it is a premium variety, it does not compete directly with the rest of the mandarins with which it coincides in the ripening period. For this reason we consider that it does not have much commercial competition.

What marketing activities do you have planned for 2017 for the UK market, and across Europe?

GS: Among the marketing activities programmed for 2017 are attendance at trade fairs, marketing in specialised press and the holding of personal meetings between the producers’ association of the Orri mandarin (Orri Running Committee) and those responsible for purchases at the main European distributors.

What is the current acreage and are there more plantings in place for the coming season?

GS: The current surface area of the Orri variety in Spain and Portugal is around 2, oooha. As for the forecasts of new plantings, there is no possibility of making new plantings because the cultivation of the Orri mandarín in Spain and Portugal is limited by the breeder to1.3 million plants.

Orri is a protected variety, does it come under the EU Protected Geographical indication (PGI) scheme? What are the requirements to grow the Orri variety?

GS: The Orri variety is a variety protected by the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO), whose regulations protect the industrial property rights of the breeder in the entire EU. This means that to market or exploit this variety, authorisation is needed from the breeder, which is the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO). At this time in the Mediterranean Are the only countries with an exploitation licence are Israel, Spain and Portugal.