The regularization campaign has been launched to give producers the opportunity to voluntarily regularise their unlicensed plantations. This campaign will run from 18 April 2018 to 31 August 2018. The price of such regularization has been set at 12 Euro per tree (plus indirect taxes), to be paid in a maximum of 3 annual instalments.
From 1 September 2018 to 31 December 2018, it will also be possible to request the aforementioned regularization, although during this period, the price will rise to 20 Euro per tree (plus indirect taxes), also to be paid in a maximum of 3 annual instalments. In any of these cases, the regularization will be subject to compliance with a series of essential conditions defined by TEO, as well as to the formalization of the mandatory sublicense contract. In 2019, TEO is not expected to carry out any additional regularization campaigns and, therefore, TEO will initiate the appropriate legal actions against any Spring Sunshine plantations that continue operating without the necessary license.
In the same way, any producer interested in setting up a new plantation may request the granting of a license at any time at a price of 12 Euro per tree (plus indirect taxes), subject to the same payment conditions.
Creation of a producers' association
In the framework of the project for regularization and the granting of new licenses, there are also plans to create an association of producers and labellers of the said mandarin variety. This association, initially called "Spring Running Committee" (SRC), will be funded by the sub-licensees with the payment of up to a maximum of 3 cents per kilo of fruit. It will mainly be in charge of the control, legal defence and promotion of the variety. One of the steps planned to be taken by this association is the implementation of a labelling system to facilitate the variety's identification and guarantee its legal origin.
Also worth noting is that the prestigious Association of Plant Variety Operators (ASOVAV) has reached an agreement with TEO to collaborate in the regularization and sale of new licenses of the variety, as well as in the future management of the SRC and its labelling system.
At the moment, the average price paid at origin for Spring Sunshine mandarins ranges between 60 and 90 cents per kilo. The variety has already achieved an important international development, with a total of more than 2,000 hectares planted in Israel, Australia, South Africa and South America, among other territories.
Development of molecular markers for greater control of the variety
Within the framework of the prestigious "Citrusgenn" project, and in partnership with the Valencian Institute of Agrarian Research (IVIA), molecular markers have been developed that allow the genetic identification of the variety when compared to any other mandarin, including descendants of the same parent (Murcott).
Genetic analyses will be carried out at the facilities of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), which has certified the perfect functioning of the markers through its Plant Cultivation Biotechnology Unit (UBCV).