Valencia Oranges

There is no way that you live in "Comunidad de Valencia" and not get intimately involved in their famous oranges. Our good friends, the Faus, own a farm home which includes an orange grove - many people I have met here do have such arrangements. They have been sharing some of their naranja crop with us - well, some might be a bit of an underestimate: we have received four crateful of oranges and mandarins in one month, so imagine the amount of citrus eating and juice drinking (our next door neighbors have also been supplying us with some oranges). The lemons below is Faus' first crop.

These citrus are completely natural without any spraying or processing because the Faus are not producing them for commercial use. The Valencian oranges have a thin peel and are extremely juicy and sweet. They are best for making juice because it is hard to peel and slice them. These oranges became pretty handy while Grandma and our friends the Wassermans were visiting.

Yunus and Dilara made a huge production of orange juice and stored for later consumption. Here is a juice making operation at the Tezcans:



According to February 2006 USA Department of Agriculture report, Spain (estimated 2005/6 production 4.8 million tons) is the 5th highest citrus producing country (falling behind Mexico after a severe drought 2004, worst in 60 years). Brazil (estimated 18.2 million tons) is the largest producer followed by China (14.4 million tons, mostly mandarin and tangerine), USA (10.6 million), and Mexico. Spain does not produce much grapefruit. The report states that citrus production was affected in year 2005-6 by Hurricane Wilma in USA, abandonment of citrus fields in Brazil (apparently, Brazil is replacing its citrus plants with sugarcane; gotta have those cereals loaded, eh!), drought in Spain and a frost in late spring 2005 in Hunan region and cold temperatures and several typhoons in Zhejiang province of China.

As one of the leading citrus exporter, Spain's citrus export (estimated 2.7 million tons) exceeds USA (899, 000 tons) - obviously, Spain sells much of what it produces. World's total citrus export was 9.3 million tons. With the recent economic developments, Russia is apparently becoming a major target market for citrus industry.

The Valencian oranges are not available here until the end of November or so. Before the local crop is available, Spain imports its citrus from South America and South Africa. Those oranges are nothing like the ones you pick from the trees now. I have not yet found one Valencian orange that is dry and tasteless.

Unfortunately, I also noticed the signs of abandoning smaller orange groves to be replaced by high-rises. On the other hand, I realize more trees are planted in the more commercialized fields. In any event, it seems like the Valencian oranges will be around here quite some time - luckily...