Global citrus production increases
Oranges
In the United States, production is expected to decrease by 16 percent to 6.3 million tons. Over the past three years, American production declined steadily from about 8 million tons to just over 6 million tons. Export to Canada and South Korea dwindles, making the export volume drop 20 percent.
An increase of 6 percent is expected for Brazil, resulting in a volume of 17.3 million tons. This increase is due to a bigger harvest and favourable weather conditions. Two thirds of production is processed, the rest is used almost entirely for fresh consumption.
The European harvest was 6.1 million tons, an increase of 3 percent. The increase was due to favourable weather conditions. Import remained stable, with South Africa and Egypt as the main suppliers. The consumption of fresh oranges is expected to fall, according to the estimates more oranges will be processed.
A combination of a growing acreage and good weather make South Africa reach a growth of 3 percent, to 1.6 million tons. The vast majority of these products, 1.2 million tons, will be exported. Thus, South Africa is responsible for 25 percent of world trade. Europe and Russia are the largest markets for the South African oranges.
Mandarins
What mandarins are concerned, a record 26 million tons is expected, an increase of 5 percent from last year. A production increase in China and Morocco largely contributed to the 5 percent upsurge. China is the largest producer of this type of citrus, with an expected harvest of over 18 million tons. Since 2009, the volume has improved with 4 million tons. The Moroccan volumes grew from 635,000 tons in 2009 to an estimated harvest of 1.2 tons this year. The EU, after a year of contraction, is growing to 3 million tons.
Grapefruit
An increase of 5 percent is similarly expected for grapefruit, the harvest being at 6.2 million tons. In South Africa and the United States, the volume decreases, but this is offset by growth in China. The Chinese volumes grow from 2.9 million tons in 2009 to 3.8 million tons this year. Last year, the grapefruit harvest amounted to 3.4 million tons. The United States experience a decline from 1.2 million tons last year to an estimated 955,000 tons this year. Production in South Africa plummets from 434,000 tons to 390,000 tons this year. European production amounted to 120,000 tons.
Lemons and limes
For lemons and limes, a 5 percent drop is expected. This corresponds to 5.9 million tons of lemons and limes. The frost in Argentina has little impact on the trade in fresh lemons and limes, as the South American country of this citrus will process less to keep exports at acceptable levels. The largest producer of this type of citrus is Mexico with an estimated volume of 2 million tons. Mexico is followed by the EU with 1.3 million tons, an increase over the 1.2 million tons a year earlier. Argentine volumes go down from 1.3 million tons in 2012 to 750,000 tons this year. Turkey sees its volumes rise from 680,000 tons to 760,000 tons.