In 2020/21, the citrus harvest in the European Union is expected to increase 7.5% year-on-year to 11.4 megatonnes. Favourable weather conditions in the main citrus growing EU countries and a rebound compared to the previous season form the basis for the expected increase. The recovery in EU production and higher global demand for citrus from the corona pandemic could boost EU exports to strategic markets and discourage imports into the EU. The strategic export markets for European citrus are still Canada, the Middle East and China, followed by Switzerland, Norway and Serbia.
The US Department of Agriculture expects the European orange crop to increase by 5.6% in 2020/21 to 6.5 megatonnes. The expected expansion of the Italian orange area plays a role in this. The total orange area in Europe will increase by 0.8% to 281,226 ha.
The estimate for the harvest of mandarins in the coming year is 3.1 megatonnes, an expected increase of 10%. In addition, USDA estimates that lemon cultivation in the EU will increase by 11% to 1.6 megatonnes. The grapefruit harvest in the EU is estimated to remain unchanged at 96,000 tonnes.
Source: USDA