This study was conducted to investigate the effects of preharvest canopy position and bagging treatments on rind physiological and biochemical properties of ‘Nules Clementine’ mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) fruit. Before storage, the respiration rate of unbagged outside fruit was significantly higher (21.6 mL CO2 kg−1 h−1) than of bagged inside fruit (16.3 mL CO2 kg−1 h−1). Unbagged fruit outside the canopy had 1.4-fold higher carbohydrates, and 1.1-fold higher dry matter (DM) content than bagged inside fruit. Bagged fruit inside the canopy had higher (24%) weight loss than outside sun-exposed fruit (14%). This corresponded with a higher rind breakdown (RBD) index for bagged inside fruit, compared to sun-exposed fruit which did not develop the disorder. During postharvest storage, rind fructose levels of bagged fruit inside the canopy increased from 62.4 mg/g DM at harvest to 81.3 mg/g DM after 8 weeks, while those of unbagged outside fruit increased from 97.9 to 108.4 mg/g DM. Concomitant with the increase in fructose, sucrose in rind tissue of bagged inside fruit decreased from 42.6 to 27.7 mg/g DM and from 49.3 to 33.4 mg/g DM for unbagged outside fruit. Rind glucose of unbagged inside fruit decreased from 90.6 to 76.2 mg/g DM. Ascorbic acid concentrations remained almost constant during storage, with levels between 3.3 and 6.7 mg/g DM for inside bagged and unbagged outside fruit, respectively. Hesperidin was the major flavanone detected, with concentrations between 35 and 45 mg/g DM followed by narirutin (1.1-2.8 mg/g DM). At harvest, rind of fruit harvested from outside the canopy had lower hesperidin concentration (38.1 mg/g DM) compared to shaded fruit (44.2 mg/g DM). Overall, the results suggest that variations in microclimatic conditions inside the tree canopy during the growing season affect the biochemical profile of the fruit rind, which in turn influences fruit response to postharvest stresses associated with senescence and susceptibility to RBD.