CGC successfully completes trial shipment of cold-treated oranges in transit to India

The bulk of this first experimental shipment coordinated by the Citrus Management Committee (CGC) - nine containers of Valencia oranges - left the Port of Valencia on the MSC ship Sixin on the 9th June, coming from the Fricasa facilities in the Port of Castell?n. Before that, on 27th May, two other containers had left from this enclave, which were also part of the same shipment. The first shipment arrived at the Port of Nhava Sheva, in Mumbai, on 28 June; the second arrived on the 24th of the same month. Both consignments - totalling some 246 tonnes - were analysed by the Indian authorities, who were able to verify on the thermographs of the containers that the cold chain for their preservation had not been broken and that there had been no incident in the cold treatment applied during transport by ship to India. Later, the cargo also passed the phytosanitary, quality and other more specific controls, and the two consignments were allowed to be dispatched. The definitive opening of this market - in viable conditions for exporting Spanish oranges - is now pending the approval of the new quarantine plan, its notification to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the definitive publication of the new protocol in the official gazette. It will then be a matter of several months before operators will be able to carry out the necessary cold treatment in transit. The validation of the test shipment by the CGC - the only body representing the private citrus trade at national level - will represent, in practice, the opening of the Indian citrus market for Spanish oranges. The CGC would like to reiterate its gratitude, beyond the joint effort of the 10 associated exporters who have participated in the mission, to all the entities that have contributed to its success: to the Ministry of Agriculture -which patiently and continuously negotiated the dossier for years-, to the political and technical effort developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of the Spanish Embassy in New Delhi, to the Commercial Office of Spain -which worked efficiently 'on the ground'- and to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Valencian Community, which contributed to finance the expedition. "From the approval of the new protocol, the challenge will be to consolidate the commercial network embryonically opened in this market, which is a complicated destination, with obvious logistical difficulties for perishable products but very interesting, because it has a great demographic potential, a middle class that is growing and that for all these reasons could have an important path and growth," said the president of the CGC, Inmaculada Sanfeliu. The current protocol, which is now to be modified, imposes that the cold treatment required to guarantee the absence of Ceratitis capitata in citrus must be carried out before the fruit is shipped. Citrus fruit must be subjected to a pre-shipment temperature of between 0 and 1.1 degrees Celsius for 10 to 12 days at the port of departure. To this cold treatment must be added refrigerated transport during the 21-30 days it takes to reach the port of destination. With this procedure, a first experimental shipment of one container was made in 2015 and from then on, various CGC operators began to work exporting small volumes. "The operation, with so many days of cold treatment and travelling by ship was very expensive and affected the condition of the fruit, and in all this time it has not been possible to consolidate the efforts made because the protocol was unfeasible," Sanfeliu explains. With the new conditions, which have now been proven to be effective in guaranteeing the absence of the aforementioned pest and which are also in line with international standards, the oranges are subjected for more days - up to 20 - but at a slightly higher temperature - 3 degrees or less - and, what is even more important, the treatment can be carried out in transit, during the journey. "It is just as safe in phytosanitary terms, the fruit will reach Indian consumers in better condition and it is much cheaper," concludes the CGC president.