On arrival
The size on the pallet is not the size ordered
Before anything else, count. The EU citrus standard lets a share of any consignment fall into the size band immediately above or below the one marked, so a load that looks uneven to the eye can still be conforming. What decides the question is the proportion across a proper sample, not the odd fruit in an open box.
The figures
| Size tolerance, all classes | 10 % by number or weight corresponding to the size immediately above or below that marked on the package |
|---|---|
| Quality tolerance, class I | 10 % by number or weight not satisfying the requirements of the class but meeting class II |
| What is never covered | Produce affected by rotting or any other deterioration rendering it unfit for consumption |
| How conformity is established | By sampling at the marketing stage, under EU conformity control rules |
What it changes on an order
You resell into a fixed specification
A retail listing written around one size code inherits the tolerance whether or not it mentions it. If your customer will not accept the band next door, that is a tighter requirement than the standard, and it has to be paid for and agreed in advance.
You are comparing two offers
Two quotes for the same code are comparable because the same allowance sits behind both. A quote for fruit described as large is not comparable with anything, and the gap between them is almost always a size band.
You order across several weeks
What the trees give shifts through a campaign. A size that is easy to fill in December can be the difficult one in March, and the honest answer to that is a conversation about the week, not a tighter clause.
What this note does not settle
- This explains what the standard permits. It does not tell you whether a particular load conforms, and it is not advice on rejection, price adjustment or any remedy.
- A tolerance is measured across a consignment. One box tells you almost nothing, and a box taken from the top of the pallet by the door tells you less than that.
- Which sizes we can fill in a given week is decided by the crop. Our own fillable sizes for a future week are not something the catalogue settles.
Source: Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429, Annex I, Part B, Part 2
Why the pallet can look wrong and still be right
Nobody grades fruit to perfection, and the marketing standard does not pretend otherwise. It allows a share of every consignment to fall into the size band next door, above or below, and a load built at the edge of that allowance looks uneven to anyone standing over an open box. The eye reads the exceptions. It does not read the proportion.
This is why a size argument almost never turns on whether the odd fruit is the wrong size. It turns on how much of the load is, and that is a counting question. One box is not a sample of a lorry, and a box drawn from the top layer of the pallet nearest the door is not a sample of anything at all.
What to write on the order so the answer is checkable
Put the size code and the package format on the same line. The allowance the standard grants depends on how the fruit is presented, so a code without a format is a specification with a hole in it, and the hole is exactly where these conversations start.
Say as well whether the size is a hard requirement or the size you would prefer. A requirement narrows what can be filled in a given week and it changes the price. A preference lets the packhouse send what the trees are giving. Both are legitimate positions for a buyer to take, and the difference between them is not something a grower can guess from a purchase order.
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.