Mandarin Orange Production
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is projecting an 8% increase in mandarin orange production this year due to a sudden increase in demand for the sweet orange fruit.
Due to increasing popularity and demand, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is projecting an 8% increase in the production of mandarin oranges and tangerines this year. The USDA, growers and grocers all say the increased popularity has mainly been driven by the children in the U.S. who have requested that their parents purchase more of the very sweet orange fruits. Two-thirds of the mandarin crop comes from California and even the grocery stores in that state have had to constantly re-stock the fruits due to the higher demand this year. The mandarins are easy to peel, seedless and compared to apples and “regular” oranges, the smaller mandarins are instantly ready to eat and very kid-friendly.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is forecasting a record high harvest this 2013 season with more than 427,000 tons of the sweet orange fruits coming from California alone. The huge increase in demand for mandarins caught a lot of people by surprise this year as back only three short years ago in 2010 the mandarins had not really caught on and were grown, stocked and grouped in a “miscellaneous” fruit category that included pomelos, tangelos and grapefruit. After many growers stepped up the production of mandarins in 2011, the fruit went from “miscellaneous” all the way up to number 12 overall in the grocer’s fruit aisle. More citrus growers have responded to the increased demand and have been pulling out other crops in order to plant more mandarin trees. Some grape growers have jumped on the mandarin bandwagon too, and several in California have begun pulling out valuable vineyards to convert more of their space to mandarin trees. Now various citrus industry observers and experts are saying that the mandarins will probably jump well inside of the top ten of the overall most popular fruits available at the grocery store in 2013.
The Mandarin orange comes from a small citrus tree with fruit resembling other oranges, but the mandarin trees are more drought-tolerant than most other oranges and can be grown in tropical and subtropical areas, although they are also more easily damaged by low temperatures.
The main mandarin varieties and crosses between the original mandarin orange and other citrus fruits include:
The Satsuma - a seedless variety with over 200 sub-varieties, and the source of most canned mandarins, and very popular as a fresh fruit due to the ease of consumption.
The Owari - a well-known Satsuma variety that ripens during the late fall season.
The Clementine – a variety also known as the "Christmas orange” because its peak season is December.
The Tangerine – a variety also known as the "Dancy Mandarin."
The Tangor – a variety also called the Temple Orange that is a cross between the Mandarin orange and the common sweet orange.