The Department of Agriculture has made public a ruling in favor of amending the specification for the Protected Designation of Origin Kaki Ribera del Xúquer. This means that other producers who are not part of the region of La Ribera, but that meet the quality and quantity characteristics determined by this entity, may join the DO (Desigination of Origin).
This is the first step in achieving a geographic expansion. After the approval of the Government, the request by the DO Kaki Ribera the Xúquer has to be sent to the estates of the European Union so that they may make it public and rule on it.
"It is designed for towns adjacent to La Rivera, aquifers that have a similar production of this persimmon variety, provided that they meet the standards of the DO," said the president of the Designation of Origin, Cirilo Arnandis, who added that this process would take a long time.
According to estimates, this would increase the production area for the crop, which is still growing by 20-25%, thanks to new opportunities in foreign markets and the healthy prices.
The DO solicited this extension at the request of the producers of the border areas who also want to be part of this quality recognition. "There are farmers who have their plots in different municipalities or items that are part of two locations," said Arnandis. These productions could belong to the same regulatory commission, as the fruits grown in these areas are the same.
The Designation of Origin's persimmon production increases each year. Producers have collected 20% of this campaign in La Ribera so far, i.e. about 300 million kilos of fruit, according to early estimates.
Over 85% of the fruit is distributed among EU countries, such as Germany, France or Italy, which is their main market. The sector seeks to continue expanding in countries like Jordan and Saudi Arabia. In the previous campaign, producers from Valencia exported more than 137,000 tons of persimmon worth 131.4 million euro, which positioned the region as a leader in this production in Spain. The expansion of the DO Kaki Ribera del Xúquer would substantially increase these figures, making persimmons one of the most important products.
Source: lasprovincias.es