The season for one of the most exclusive Navel oranges grown in Spain's Valencian Community, the Chocolate orange, came to a close at the end of January. "This orange appeared many years ago in the Picassent area due to a spontaneous genetic mutation in a Navelina tree, and little by little, trees underwent a selection process until the variety was developed," says Félix Perona, from Frutas Fénix.
"What makes it stand out the most is the brown color of its skin, as well as its greater sweetness, as it has between 2 and 3 degrees Brix more than a normal Navelina orange. This has led to it being highly appreciated by the gourmet and haute patisserie segments."
"The Chocolate orange season starts at the end of November/beginning of December, although the cold is very important for its coloring, and in years like this one, in which temperatures have taken longer to drop, the start of harvesting has been delayed. In any case, the variety offers great stability in terms of production, as well as prices, and this year, in which there have been no significant losses, we have once again achieved good results in the markets where we export them, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Ukraine."
In fact, Frutas Fénix specializes in exporting premium citrus, from Chocolate oranges to other more exotic types, such as red and pink lemons, or "ancestral" citrus, as Félix describes them, such as bergamot, yuzu, or citron.
"Our products are mainly intended for the fresh market, although we have recently opened a very interesting line for high-quality processed citrus. We have already worked with lemons and oranges for processing in the United Kingdom or in markets as exclusive as Georgia, which demanded premium oranges to process them into high-end dehydrated products. This was corroborated in the latest edition of Fruit Logistica, in which we took part once again."
Félix Perona and Vicente Polo talking to international visitors and buyers at their stand in the recent edition of Fruit Logistica.
"Fortunately, the leading markets for exclusive products in Europe, such as Rungis, are setting a different trend"
Years ago, Frutas Fénix decided that this citrus segment would be fully export-oriented, following seasons in which oranges were sold for barely 26 cents per kilo in wholesale markets in Valencia.
"We decided to put all our efforts into differentiating ourselves and promoting citrus outside the mainstream segment and, over time, countries such as Italy or the leading wholesale markets in Europe have proved us right," says Vicente Polo.
"We have seen this, for example, with one of the products we are working with, which is currently in the middle of the season: the Sanguinelli orange. Here in Spain, there has been a certain boom in recent years, but we must remember that, around 4-5 years ago, Italy already started promoting its pigmented oranges from Sicily, where the Taroco is the predominant variety."
"Besides this promotion and the increase in production, pigmented oranges and other premium fruits are increasingly present in large traditional European markets. In fact, it could be said that the Rungis market set a trend with this type of products that has been followed by other large markets, such as Perpignan: that of bringing non-standard quality products to the retail."
"The Horeca sector has greatly contributed to boosting the consumption of products that used to be niche products and were therefore not frequently available in supermarkets. The big chains have a way of working that is perhaps not entirely suited to creating the right conditions for such products to be properly promoted."
"We think it's very positive that such products have found their way to the traditional market so that they can become better known one day, even to the ordinary consumer."
For more information:
Frutas Fénix S.L.
Valencia, Spain
[email protected]
https://www.frutasfenix.es