In the 2020/21 orange season, we were able to ignore the EU standards for oranges for the first time and brought fruit to Switzerland in all the shapes, sizes and colours that nature has to offer. gebana customers were thrilled and farming families were able to export over 90 percent of their harvest. This year we want to reach 95 percent.
There’s an EU regulation that determines what citrus fruit need to look like to be sold to end consumers: orange, intact, free from bruises or deep scars, no size differences in a single crate and at least 53 millimetres in diameter. Smaller or more unique oranges are only allowed to be made into juice, but may not be exported as whole fruits for consumption.
Who does this regulation help? The major supermarkets that want to sell oranges as if they were mass-produced paperclips – all identical. The regulation also helps them keep smaller competitors at bay. Those who lose out are customers, farming families and the environment.
In 2019 we madethe decision to do something about this nonsense and we requested an exemption from the EU. We were advised to simply label the oranges as Products intended for processing. The export rules would then no longer apply. You can find the whole story here.
This label allowed us to distribute #RealOranges to Switzerland for the first time in the 2020/21 season. Some were still green, others scarred, and others still were small like clementines or big like grapefruits. Hundreds of consumers, full of enthusiasm, sent in photos of their fruit crates or posted them on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.
Meanwhile, the farming families in Greece were able to export an impressive 91.5 percent of their harvest as table oranges. Although the 2018/19 season was similar in terms of quality and harvest quantity per field, the farming families were only able to sell 81 percent of their harvest to gebana for export.
In other words, we have halved the relative crop loss – and the farming families earned significantly more than they did in the years previously. Based on this success, we now want to increase the harvest yield to 95 percent in the 2021/22 season. But nature will always have the last word here.
You can pre-order the #RealOranges in our online shop.
gebana AG, Ausstellungsstrasse 21, 8005 Zürich, Schweiz
gebana AG, Ausstellungsstrasse 21, 8005 Zürich, Schweiz
Smallholders and local producers harvest and refine products of extraordinary quality worldwide. But for many of these producers there is no adequate or stable market. You can buy directly from these producers via the Access to Market Platform and help them to participate in the market. The principle behind this is crowd ordering – a new trade model whereby a number of consumers order a product together so as to achieve a minimum order quantity. We at gebana support the producers with our know-how, and organise the logistics.
Enable someone to make their first export with your order. Please note: Unexpected events often lead to delays, and you may find that the quality is not yet perfect. For this reason, your feedback is absolutely essential. The export experience and your feedback are important steps for the producers towards accessing the market. As a customer, you are witness to the whole process, playing your part in pioneering work.
You can order from these producers simply and directly. You receive your product as soon as the minimum order quantity has been reached and the products are ready. The risk for you is minimal, since the producers already have a product that is ready for market. This sales channel is beneficial to both the producers and the consumers, since it cuts out the middle man.
Be part of the development of supply chains and support innovation! Some of the ways you can do this include testing new products, giving feedback, or financially supporting the producers in their next steps. In doing so, you will be able to see for yourself how the products and supply chains develop.
This is where you can see all the completed projects on the Access to Market Platform at a glance. You can find out where products are now available from or whether the producers are still seeking a trade partner.