Brazil could lose 25% of orange output
"The situation is alarming since in the worst case scenario, we won't be able to pick one fourth of the 2012-2013 harvest - or the equivalent of 83 million crates of 40.8 kilograms," Christian Lohbauer, head of the National Association of the Citrus Juice Exporters, told AFP on Tuesday.
Brazil, the world's leading orange juice exporter with an 85 percent market share, has already accumulated stocks of 560,000 tons while the upper limit is 825,000 tons, he said.
"If we handle all the oranges of the coming harvest, estimated at 364 million of crates, there won't be enough space to stock everything," added Lohbauer, who scheduled a meeting with the agriculture ministry in Brazil Wednesday to review the problem.
Brazil currently exports 1.2 million tons of concentrated orange juice a year, with 70 per cent going to Europe and 15 per cent to the United States.
Lohbauer said orange juice consumption has been steadily dropping over the past 10 years in the face of competition from flavoured bottled water, Gatorade and other sports drinks as well as juice cocktails.
"The orange surplus is becoming a chronic problem and we are going to see what we can do with the government to sell more oranges in Brazil. But in any case, it will only be a stopgap measure," he added.
Producers have also expressed concern over the glut as most have yet to sign contracts with the industry, according to their association, Associtrus.
Source: tradingroom.com.au
