“Spanish citrus popular in winter”

During the winter months retailers always clear some shelf space for citrus. “Winter really is the time for citrus varieties,” says Ton van den Hoek of Dutch supermarket Jumbo. At Jumbo the winter usually starts early: in October shelves are stocked with Spanish citrus such as mandarins, followed a few weeks later by oranges. “Mandarins in particular receive some special attention. We like to package them in little baskets, making it a more festive product.”

Ton van den Hoek, as unit manager, is in charge of several fresh sectors and, as such, visits Spanish producers on a regular basis. “We get our food stuffs from trusted suppliers, people we can make arrangements with. We have some good experiences with Spanish growers, but we look at other places as well: Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, places like that. We’re testing Moroccan citrus as we speak.”

All in all, Ton is confident in the Spanish season. “Winter is always one of our favourite seasons, and citrus is a big part of it. In spite of recent rains we’re getting some quality produce, so we expect the season to be a good one.”