For the latest figures about the European citrus season, the volume has been adjusted downwards by 1.4 per cent, according to the USDA in a recent report. The total citrus production amounts to 10,867 million tonnes. That is one per cent less than during the 2015/16 season. The most important cause for the decrease is the citrus tristeza virus that decimated the harvest in Italy. The Spanish harvest was larger than expected because of the good weather. This partly compensates part of the Italian losses.
Grapefruit continues to be in a downward spiral with about 75 per cent of grapefruit in Europe being imported. The import from the US also shows a declining trend. Last year, imports from this country decreased by 14 per cent.
To absorb the loss of the Russian market, the sector invested in new markets. These were found in Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and China.
Oranges
Spain is the largest orange producer of Europe, good for about half of the European production. According to the latest government figures, the harvest is one per cent lower than the last estimates. With that, the volume is still 16 per cent higher than last year. The latest figures are at 3,587 million tonnes.
Italy is the second-largest producer. Production is estimated to be 38 per cent lower than in the previous season. Causes are drought in summer and the citrus tristeza virus that infected about 45,000 hectares of the citrus cultivation. The harvest in Greece and Portugal is practically constant with last year’s figures.
Tangerines
The total harvest figures of the EU have been adjusted downwards by two per cent compared to the previous estimate. The expected harvest amounts to 3.2 million tonnes. Compared to the previous season, however, there’s an increase of five per cent. The lower estimate is mostly the result of a smaller yield in Spain. The country has a total production of 2.3 million tonnes, 19 per cent more than in the previous season. Clementines, Satsumas and hybrid varieties experienced a considerable increase.
The Italian harvest mostly consists of seedless varieties. It is expected that the harvest will be 25 percent smaller than during the previous season. A lack of rain and the tristeza virus are a cause of this as well. The Greeks see demand for tangerines increasing in surrounding countries, causing a rise in exports.
Lemons and grapefruit
Due to a rise of production in Spain and Italy, the volume of lemons will increase by 20 per cent and amount to 1.5 million tonnes. However, these figures have been adjusted downwards by two per cent. The grapefruit production shows a less positive image. Figures have been adjusted downwards by 12 per cent, amounting to 101,000 tonnes. That decrease is mostly due to a smaller production in Spain, where a decline of two per cent has been noted compared to last year. However, Cyprus is still investing in the cultivation of citrus. White grapefruit plantations can be found around Limassol. Growers invest in red varieties around Paphos.