Despite a projected reduction in area planted, the forecast for Brazilian orange production for the 2013-2014 season is higher than the previous season's production due to improved yields.
The 2013-2014 Brazilian orange crop could reach 435 million boxes, according to a report from the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service. That's an increase of 34 million boxes over the previous season's production. The forecast comes in spite of a reduction in area planted. The total area dedicated to oranges for the 2013-2014 season is expected to be 715,000 hectares, which is a reduction of 25,000 hectares from the previous season. The increase in production is partly due to a projected 12 percent increase in yield, which is expected to reach 2.1 boxes per tree for the 2013-2014 season.