Italy's citrus production drops

Italy’s orange production in marketing year (MY) 2014/15 is forecast to be lower than the previous campaign. The regular varieties are forecast to register a 10% drop, while the blood oranges are forecast to drop 30%, especially the late varieties. The tangerine production of Italy is forecast to decrease by approximately 10%. On the other hand, the lemon production is predicted to grow significantly by 14%. Overall, fruit quality is expected to be good.

Oranges

Fruit quality in Italy is expected to be good. The production of oranges in MY 2014/15 is forecast to be lower than the previous campaign. Most oranges in Italy are consumed fresh, like Tarocc, Moro and Sanguinello. Late varieties (Ovale and Valencia) are destined to both fresh market and the processing industry. The imports of oranges in MY 2013/14 (164,000 MT) mainly from Spain and South Africa where higher than Italy’s exports (118,000 MT) from countries like Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France.

Tangerines

The tangerine production in Italy consists of over 80% seedless clementines and nearly 20% mandarins. In MY 2014/15 the production of tangerines decreased approximately by 10% the quality is expected to be better than the past year. Most tangerines in Italy are consumed fresh. Large quantities of clementines and mandarins are consumed during winter holidays. Italy exported their tangerines (76,000 MT) mainly to Poland, Romania and Slovenia, Austria and Hungary. Their tangerine imports mostly from Spain (85%) reached 82,000 MT in MY 2013/14.

Lemons

In MY 2014/15 the lemon production of Italy increased by 14%. However, their quality is expected to be excellent. 86% of Italy’s lemons which are mostly destined for the fresh market are produced in Sicily. In MY 2013/14 Italy exported 44,800 MT of lemon’s, mainly to Germany, Greece and Austria, while their imports, mostly from Spain and Argentina, reached 86,000 MT.

Grapefruit

The grapefruit production of Italy is forecast to decrease by 6.7%. In MY 2013/14 Italy exported 2,677 MT of grapefruit, mainly to Slovenia, France, the Netherlands and Croatia. At the same time Italy’s imports, mainly from South Africa, Turkey, Israel and Cyprus, reached 30,284 MT.