clementines

anybody besides me wonder about clementines? you know, those little, sweet (most of the time) orange fruit that come on little wooden crates that we all try to buy for under $5.00 but they are all running like $6.99 or more...... then of course there is that store in my hometown, which recently closed for good, where they used to have the hoots to charge $8.99 and MORE! HELLO? Anybody HOME? My question is simple. Where did they come from? I know Spain is on lots of boxes, but WHERE did they come from? They weren't here ten years ago. They weren't here in my childhood. Did they suddenly invent a clementine tree? What's with that, anyways? Can someone please answer......?