The Enforcement Organization S.L. (TEO), exclusive master licensee of the Orri variety in Spain and Portugal, has started a total of 92 legal actions against the illegal exploitation of Orri mandarins, which could affect about 172 hectares; more than 80,000 trees.
85.23% of these cases correspond to the Region of Valencia (some 45,000 trees); 6.82% to Andalusia (about 16,000 trees); 6.82% to the Region of Murcia (some 14,000 trees) and 1.14% to Catalonia.
In all cases, TEO demands the destruction of all illegal plant material and compensations which, based on regional and national regulations, oscillate between 30 Euro per tree (in the period of temporary protection) and 60 Euro per tree (in the definitive protection period). That is, a total of 90 Euro per tree when the variety's illegal exploitation has been carried out during both periods.
To date, a total of 40,000 illegal Orri mandarin trees grown in more than 80 hectares have been destroyed in Spain. Sources from TEO have recalled that "it is well-known that this variety is protected in the European Union; therefore, the production and/or reproduction of the plant material, its preparation for propagation, its sale and the export and import into the EC is prohibited in Spain and Portugal without the consent of TEO. It is also forbidden to store it without the authorization of the variety's exclusive master licensee." They also recalled that "there is a labelling system in place to identify the legal origin of the production, so any operator has public access to information regarding the location of all authorised plots through https://www.orcspain.es/sublicenciados/”.
They have highlighted "the effectiveness of the various open legal actions, since none of them has been dismissed and, in many cases, they have led offenders to request extrajudicial agreements to avoid going to court." Also, they pointed out that "these agreements have never resulted in the regularization of illegal plantations, since the elimination of the plant material is compulsory, just like the payment of a fine."