Now we're even too busy to peel oranges!

They may be nutritious and delicious. But it seems oranges are falling out of favour --because we're too busy to peel them.

In the last 12 months, consumption of oranges has fallen by as much as 2 per cent, according to market researchers TNS.

It is the third year in succession that the fruit has suffered a dip in popularity.

Experts say that with the average worker spending only 15 minutes on their lunch break, they are shunning oranges because they are too time-consuming to peel and eat.

By contrast the smaller citrus fruits such as clementines and tangerines, which are far more manageable, are enjoying a surge in popularity.

Dominic Terecy, of Partridges greengrocer in Chelsea, said: 'Clementines are one of our most popular fruits here.

'They have grown by 3 to 4 per cent in the last year.'

Marius du Plessis, general manager at Mehadrin Tnuport Marketing UK, which imports and distributes citrus fruit, added that growers are putting more time into developing new varieties of easypeelers rather than cultivating oranges.