General features: The Mandarins are citric fruits, belonging to various species and varieties, and its hybrids, which results into an offer of different fruits, all popularly called mandarins in our market. That also broadens the offer period.

 

The oldest and most common variety that holds an important place in the market is the “tangerina cravo”, for being of great quality and premature, offered between March and May in São Paulo. The other one is the “mexirica”, which comes afterwards, between May and July, while the main variety “Ponkan” is offered between April and August. Completing the mandarin cycle is the hybrid “Murkott” from August until the end of the year.

 

New hybrids and varieties have been introduced and commercialised, slightly broadening the periods mentioned above, such as the “Satsuma” for example, more premature than the “tengerina cravo”. Mandarins and its hybrids have also been imported from Argentina, Uruguay and Spain.

 

Mandarins main characteristics are: easy to peel by hand, sweet or low acid taste, attractive by its reddish colour, some with few or no seed at all, pleasing aroma and taste. Therefore they are mainly consumed in natural.