Valencian company Euro Variety Agronomic Management (EVAM) is the exclusive licensee of the industrial property rights of the US Early Pride mandarin variety in the European Union, Morocco, Chile, Peru and Turkey.
EVAM has strong ties to the citrus sector. Its director and partner Vicente Estevan Sabater is the second generation of a family that has remained devoted to the production of citrus fruits.
The US Early Pride variety has been protected in Europe by the Community Plant Variety Office since January 17, 2022, "and now we have started with its expansion in Chile and Peru, which we are excited about," says Vicente.
The Chilean Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) granted the variety provisional protection on July 20, 2020, and the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property of Peru (INDECOPI) awarded it protection on January 20, 2022. After a lengthy process of introducing the plant material, quarantine and multiplication, "the EVAM, through the El Tambo Nursery, has delivered the first plants of the variety to Chilean and Peruvian producers," says the director. "The EVAM has thus kick-started the development of the variety in these territories, hand in hand with expert producers and exporters."
In Peru, the earliest varieties are the Satsuma and Primosole. "The protected US Early Pride mandarin variety, also early, seedless and with an attractive reddish-orange color, can fill a very important gap in this territory, especially since, given how it is obtained, bees don't need to be repelled, and there is no need to use nets for isolation to avoid seeds. This facilitates the pollination and reduces the amount of necessary treatments for the fruit setting," says Vicente Estevan.
Nicolás Vergara Stevens, from Providence Exports (PROVEX), Chile.
"In Chile, the mandarin could be ready for harvesting by the end of April, before the arrival of the early clementines from the north of the country, which are usually available for export by the end of May. Moreover, the fruit stays in perfect condition on the tree for up to two months after its natural ripening. Therefore, the exporter achieves a very high yield of more than 90%, as the fruit doesn't need to be subjected to temperature treatments for degreening, which extends its commercial life. We can also not forget that the fruits, of caliber 1, generally weigh 120 grams/piece, which means about 50,000 exportable kilos per hectare."
"In 2023, in its first marketing campaign in Spain, the variety's prices at origin have ranged between €0.55 and 0.65 / kilo, very similar prices to those of other protected varieties, such as the Nadorcott or the Tangold," says Vicente Estevan, director of the entity with the exclusive industrial property rights over the variety.
"These results are motivating us to continue growing in the Northern Hemisphere and should serve as a basis for the start of our journey in the Chilean and Peruvian citrus industry," says Nicolás Vergara Stevens, from Providence Exports (PROVEX).
For more information:
Vicente Estevan
Euro Varieties Agronomic Management, S.L
European Union:
T +34 603 75 34 52
[email protected]
Chile:
T +56 979 685 904
[email protected]
Peru:
T +51 997 925 479
[email protected]
www.usearlypride.es