Antonio Carmona, the president of the Palmanaranja citrus professional association, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, stated that the Valley of Guadalquivir, which includes municipalities in the provinces of Cordoba and Seville, is the country’s leading producing region of sweet oranges, especially of late varieties.
The Palmanaranja association is made up of ten firms: Guadex, Zamexfruit, García Ballester, Citraulia, Cooperativa Las Huertas, Coare and Sunaran (all of which are from Palma), Lasarte (from Ecija), Foasat (from Peñaflor), and Covidesa (from Posadas).
“Palmanaranja has been consolidating the sector, which is still growing, for the past 20 years,” Carmona stated. In fact, data from the Ministry of Agriculture and the GDR Medio Guadalquivir confirm the exponential increase that citrus has experienced in the Guadalquivir Valley in recent decades: between 1998 and 2018, the production of Palma del Rio and Vega del Guadalquivir has increased fivefold, going from 44,300 tons and an area of 2,546 hectares to 266,076 tons and an area of 11,164 hectares.
An engine of economic and social development
This activity has a significant impact on the local economy. The latest data from Palmanaranja, corresponding to the 2019-2020 campaign, showed a turnover close to 100 million; wages in the field totaled 160,000, and wages in warehouses amounted to 112,000. There is no doubt that the citrus sector is an engine of economic and social development, the president of the association stated.
Palmanaranja has renewed its agreement with the City Council, an agreement that translates into 14,000 euro in support of the strategic sector of the Palma economy, according to the mayor, Esperanza Caro de la Barrera. The interprofessional was born at the initiative of the City Council and more than 50% of the active population of Palma del Rio works with oranges, the mayor added.
Source: diariocordoba.com