Genesis Innovation Group, through its Citrus Genesis division, plans to start marketing licenses for the planting of up to 1,000 hectares of Cambria oranges in the main Mediterranean countries. Only the growers acquiring the corresponding license will be authorised to plant and produce this variety.
So far, it has been produced mainly in South Africa, where there are currently more than 1,500 hectares planted. In all these years, its main customers in the European market have considered it a premium, highly differentiated product, generating at least 15% higher returns for the producer than other late Navels, and 30% more than Valencia late oranges.
Now, after the development of the first major plantations in Spain, Morocco and Israel, with more than 300 hectares already planted between the three countries, the variety is strengthening its position in the European market during the Northern Hemisphere season, improving the fruit's availability for consumers in these countries.
Its expansion is also being felt little by little in the Southern Hemisphere; for example, in Chile, with around 10 hectares, or in Australia, where the first plantations are now being set up. Besides, agronomic evaluations are being carried out in Peru and Uruguay. The total amount of hectares of this variety planted in the world amounts to 2,000, with about one million trees.
All of this is due, among other things, to its harvest period, which ensures great market opportunities, as it reaches its optimum level of maturation between March and April, with the possibility of extending the harvest until May in the Northern Hemisphere, and from August to October in the Southern Hemisphere, making it an extraordinary orange for the second season, with the added value of being a protected variety of limited and controlled exploitation.
Moreover, this originally South African variety has the typical characteristics of the Navel group, such as ease of peeling and total absence of seeds, but it also achieves improvements when it comes to juice quantity and its unique flavour profile; hence why it is so appreciated by the consumer and why it has great value in the citrus sector.
The fruits are characterised by having the navel closed, so the skin remains intact and in perfect condition, greatly extending its shelf life. It is particularly striking how the fruit always retains an unusual firmness and has an extraordinary resistance against physiological alterations of the skin. Furthermore, it is very suitable for storage in chambers.
This high-productivity variety is already protected in the European Union, Morocco and South Africa, and is in the process of registration in other countries. The exclusive rights are held by Citrus Genesis (one of the five business divisions of Genesis Innovation Group) in Spain, Morocco, Israel, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus, as well as Italy.