California grower and shipper Fruit World announced its final citrus shipments of the winter season. Based in Reedley, the company expects to harvest specialty citrus for another month and citrus staples into late April or early May.

The company offers conventional citrus, grapes, and stone fruit. Organic tomatoes, persimmons, and pomegranates are also in their portfolio.

Fruit World’s Tango and Murcott mandarins recently got rebranded, with renewed high-graphic bags. Conventional Gold Nugget mandarins, another of the company’s flagship offerings, are “off-the-charts sweet,” according to Founder and CEO Bianca Kaprielian. The fruit sweetness measures more than 15 degrees brix.

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Fruit World offers year-round lemon and orange programs. Organic lemons are grown in all three California growing districts to secure a year-round supply. 

“Our growing operations allow us to reliably supply national supermarkets, independent chains, and mom-and-pop grocers, all while staying rooted in our values,” Kaprielian added.

As for oranges, the company moves from Navel to Valencia during the year, seeking to cover demand throughout the year. 

Regarding the lower-than-average citrus supplies in California this season, Kaprielian said that this was mostly due to a later start. The executive indicated fruit was a month later than usual, and that the market experienced a softening of demand from January into February.

"For us, the late start and lower pulls mean that we are able to extend our season 3-4 weeks later than we originally expected. The most noticeable items in short supply for us are blood oranges and minneola tangelos. Navel and Cara Cara oranges and lemons are fairly close to average, with mandarins being about 20-25% below normal," Kaprielian told FreshFruitPortal.com.

The sector additionally struggled with unprecedented rainfall from atmospheric rivers, which disrupted typical citrus thrips timing in orchards and led to uncontrollable conditions in the field, California Citrus Mutual (CCM) informed in a Sept. 27 release.

"One of the biggest supply challenges this year has been thrips damage causing a higher percentage of choice grade fruit, primarily in the orange and mandarin supplies," Kaprielian said.