Class and calibre are two different things
Buyers routinely conflate them, and it causes arguments at arrival. They answer different questions.
Class is about condition and appearance — is the fruit sound, clean, well formed, free of defects. Calibre is about size — how big each piece is. A carton can be Class I and the wrong size, or the right size and Class II. You need both in your specification, and a tolerance for each.
European marketing standards define three classes. Extra Class is superior quality with virtually no defects, used for premium display. Class I is good quality, allowing slight defects in shape or colour that do not affect appearance or keeping quality — this is what most retail programmes buy. Class II allows more visible defects while remaining sound and marketable; it is the workhorse for processing and value lines.
Counts: the system that confuses everyone
Citrus is sold by count, and count is counter-intuitive: a higher number means smaller fruit.
The number tells you how many pieces fill a standard carton. A 15 kg carton of oranges at count 72 holds 72 oranges, so each weighs roughly 208 g. The same carton at count 113 holds 113 smaller oranges of about 133 g each. Same weight, same box, very different fruit.
This matters commercially in a way that catches out new buyers. Large counts (40–72) go to retail shelves and fresh markets where fruit is sold by the piece and size is visible. Small counts (88–125) are usually better value per kilo of juice, which is why juice factories buy them. Ask for the wrong end of the range and you either overpay for display fruit you will squeeze, or disappoint a supermarket buyer expecting something impressive.
Other products use different systems. Pomegranates are sold as counts per 5 kg carton (6 or 12). Onions go by diameter band in millimetres — 40–60, 60–80, 80–100. Grapes and strawberries are sold by punnet weight rather than piece size, because nobody counts berries.
Frozen calibres work differently again
Once product is cut and frozen, size is controlled by the sorter rather than by nature, so bands are tighter and more literal:
| IQF strawberries | Whole, sliced or diced. Standard 10 mm+; calibrated bands 15–25 mm, 25–35 mm, 35 mm+ on request |
|---|---|
| IQF okra | Three graded lengths — Extra up to 2.5 cm · Zero 2.5–3.5 cm · Excellent 3.5–4.5 cm |
| IQF broccoli & cauliflower | Floret diameter 20–40 mm or 40–60 mm |
| IQF green beans | Whole 70–90 mm, or cut 20–40 mm |
| IQF peas | Size-graded, typically 7–9 mm and 9–10.2 mm |
The okra grades are worth dwelling on, because the price gap between them is significant and the names give no clue to the order. Extra is the smallest and most prized; Excellent, despite the name, is the largest and cheapest of the three. A buyer who assumes “Excellent” is the top grade will be unpleasantly surprised by what arrives — and will have no claim, because the supplier shipped exactly what was ordered.
Tolerances: the number that actually settles disputes
No natural product sorts perfectly. Every real specification therefore carries a tolerance — the percentage of the consignment permitted to fall outside the stated grade or calibre.
EU marketing standards typically allow around 10% by number or weight outside Class I, with tighter limits for Extra Class. Calibre tolerances are usually similar. If your contract is silent on tolerance, you have not agreed a specification; you have agreed an aspiration, and any dispute will be resolved by whoever argues harder.
State it explicitly: “Class I, count 72, maximum 10% outside count by number, maximum 5% total defects.” That sentence is enforceable. “Good quality large oranges” is not.
How grading is actually done
Three techniques, usually in combination:
- Mechanical sizers separate by weight or by diameter, using roller gaps or weighing cups. Fast, consistent, blind to colour and defects.
- Optical sorters photograph each piece and reject by colour, shape or surface defect. Increasingly standard on frozen lines, where they also pull out foreign material.
- Hand grading on the belt catches what machines miss, and remains the final check on most fresh lines.
Ask a supplier which of the three they run for your product. A packhouse doing hand grading alone can produce excellent fruit but will struggle to hold a tight calibre band consistently across a season.
Writing a specification that holds
A workable spec answers all of these. If any line is missing, it will be decided for you:
- Product and variety — “Valencia orange”, not “orange”.
- Form — whole, sliced, diced, cut length.
- Class — Extra, I or II.
- Calibre or count, with the band stated.
- Tolerance for both class and calibre.
- Pack — carton weight, punnet size, bag size, pallet configuration.
- Temperature for shipping.
- Certification required with the shipment.
- Incoterm and port.
Send that list to three suppliers and you will get three comparable quotations. Send “price for a container of oranges” and you will get three numbers that cannot be compared at all.
Every product page on this site carries its full specification in that format — see fresh produce or frozen (IQF) — and we will confirm anything not listed there in writing with a quote.