Size code
Orange size 4, and what it means on a purchase order
Size 4 is a code from the EU citrus marketing standard, not a weight or a count. It fixes a diameter band measured at the widest point of the fruit, and it is the size three of our four varieties pack as a matter of course, which makes it the easiest one to fill across the whole campaign.
The figures
| Size code | 4 |
|---|---|
| Diameter range | 77–88 mm |
| Varieties we pack in this size | Clementina Clemenules, Navel Foios, Navel Lane Late, Navelina |
What it changes on an order
You are writing a specification
A size code is checkable on arrival with a ring gauge and a sample. A weight per fruit is not, because two fruits of the same diameter can differ by a good margin in weight depending on rind thickness and how the season ran.
You are buying across several weeks
A size that several varieties fill is a size you can keep on the order when the cultivar changes mid-campaign. One that only the early variety fills turns into a substitution conversation in February.
You are pricing against a competitor
Two quotes for the same size code are comparable. Two quotes for fruit described as large or medium are not, and the difference usually turns out to be a size band.
What this note does not settle
- A size code is a diameter band, not a guarantee of count per box. Count depends on the format and on how the fruit is laid, and it belongs in the packing conversation.
- Which sizes we can actually fill in a given week is not decided by the catalogue, it is decided by the crop. Ask for the week you need.
- Clementines run on a different size scale under the same standard, so a 4 on a clementine line is not the same diameter as a 4 on an orange line.
Why the standard measures diameter and not weight
A ring gauge is a cheap tool and a set of scales is not the point. Two oranges with the same diameter can differ noticeably in weight depending on how thick the rind has grown and how the season ran for water, which means a weight per fruit is a description of one particular lot rather than a specification anyone can hold you to. A diameter band is the same on the tree, on the packing line and on the receiving dock.
That is why the marketing standard builds its whole size scale on the widest point of the fruit measured across the equator. It gives both sides of a trade a number they can check with the same tool, in the same minute, without arguing about calibration.
How to ask for it so the answer is useful
Ask for the code and the week together. The code alone tells us what you want the fruit to look like; the week tells us whether the trees are giving it. Those two answers are not always the same, and the gap between them is exactly what a purchase conversation is for.
It also helps to say whether the size is a requirement or a preference. A hard requirement narrows what can be filled and may push the order into a different week; a preference lets the grower send what the tree is actually producing and keep your price where you wanted it. Both are legitimate. Saying which one you mean saves a round of email.
Talk to the grower
Tell us the variety, the sizes and the delivery week you need. You get a delivered price and what we can commit to in writing, from the person who picks the fruit.
The grower handles enquiries. Response times are still to be confirmed.