The Citricos Valencianos Protected Geographical Indication Regulating Council continues to work on reaching new export markets, and in this campaign they are betting on China. As a result, the Valencian company Frutas Tono shipped out the first Lane Late, Navel Powell, and Navel Chislett orange varieties certified with the Citricos Valencianos label, which will soon be arriving in China.
Jose Enrique Sanz (manager of IGP) and Juan Bautista Juan (Export Manager of Frutas Tono).
According to Juan Bautista Juan, the Export Manager of Frutas Tono: "Our company has exported its citrus fruits to China since 2015 betting on a growing market that values the quality of citrus fruits. As a result, Frutas Tono has found a market among Chinese consumers and has decided to bet on the IGP certification. We will distinguish the excellence of the Valencian citrus from other origins such as Egypt, which year after year is increasing its shipments to China, which we must recognize is more mature in its exports and is doing better things than in the past. On the other hand, we will promote our citrus in destinations we never thought of a few years ago."
In addition, Juan Bautista added, "our firm sends PGI oranges to the port of Shanghai, the main port of entry for Spanish citrus fruits. We are shipping Lane Late, Navel Powell, and Navel Chislett orange varietes of the second season. The Valencian company will market the products under the Tono and Benton brands, which have already been registered for this market. The volumes will vary according to the needs of the market and the sizes of the fruit, which this year are generally lower. At the moment, the first shipments are inferior, in general, to those made in previous campaigns. Hopefully the situation will take a turn and the fruit that arrives to China in April and May (taking into account that nearly 40 days pass between the preparation of shipments and downloads in China) will be more beneficial to the interests of the Valencian citrus sector, breaking the current market slump."
The IGP reached a long-awaited goal
The Managing Director of the Cítricos Valencianos IGP, Jose Enrique Sanz, stated, "having our seal reach an important market, such as China, where people are beginning to value the quality of our citrus products, is very satisfying for us. The Chinese market has shown interest in Spanish citrus fruits in different international fairs since 2014, but in the last two years we have noticed that there is an increasing interest in distinguishing the Valencian origin in the labeling, and the way to certify said origin and quality is through the Citricos Valencianos PGI seal."