Supermarket giant Mercadona pledges to supply more citrus fruit grown in Spain this season

Spanish supermarket giant Mercadona has launched a new campaign that favours national produce on its shelves.

The Valencian chain revealed it is starting the 2023-24 season for nationally-produced citrus with a forecast purchase of 220,000 tonnes, a 10% increase compared to the previous season. The new season started in October with the sale of mandarins and lemons, before Spanish oranges are rolled out from November.

As part of its commitment to local fruit and vegetable growerss, Mercadona will sell citrus fruits from orchards in the Valencia region, Andalucía, Murcia, Catalonia and the Canary Islands. Freshly squeezed orange juice will also be available in the fruit and vegetable section in three packaging formats: 250-millilitre-bottles, 500 millilitres and 1 litre.

The mandarin season started this month and ends in May, and the lemon season also started in October and will last until June - while the orange season will start in November and last until August. Mercadona's 24 national suppliers work with more than 2,800 farmers throughout Spain.

Seasonal products, balanced basket

Consuming seasonal products, in this case citrus fruits, is beneficial for not only its taste, but also taking care of the environment. As Greenpeace reports on its website, eating seasonal fruit and vegetables reduces our environmental impact.