Clementines squeezed out of shops for sweeter hybrids

CLEMENTINES could be on the way out within the next 10 years as shoppers choose new seedless hybrids.

Tesco is launching a range of hybrid mandarins in an effort to cater for Britain’s taste. Satsumas are popular in the UK because of their seedless flesh and sweet flavour, while European customers tend to prefer clementines even if they have pips.

Clementines and satsumas are both types of mandarin orange, which are citrus fruits that are smaller and easier to peel than the common orange.

Growers in Spain and Morocco – which provide most of Britain’s oranges – have cut back satsuma production over the last 20 years to cater for this trend.

Tesco is launching four new hybrid mandarins to appeal to British tastes. The seedless hybrids, which are combinations of mandarins, satsumas, oranges and even grapefruit, have become more popular with British consumers, who prefer sweeter fruit. The new varieties, which are named Meiravit, Havva, Orit and Sigal, have fewer pips, have a longer shelf life, as well as being more aromatic and colourful.

Bennie Smidt, of citrus importer AMT Fresh, said that the move could spell the beginning of the end for the traditional clementine.

He said: “With the latest varieties of the mandarin hybrid we are now starting to see the best quality easy-peelers [ever in the UK] – richer in taste, deeper in colour, far more aromatic and also easier to peel. With these... improvements and the fact that they are growing more popular with UK consumers every year, we can see a time, perhaps within the next decade, where we can reduce our reliance on the import of clementines.”

Tesco said it sold twice as many hybrids in 2023 than in 2017, with the average Briton consuming almost 6.6lb of mandarins each year.

The UK relies on Spanish citrus fruits between October and May each year, and is the largest European market for the fruit.