Informatore Agrario published a note from Jatosti-Scuderi as regards the 2013/14 and 2014/15 citrus fruit campaign.
2013/14 campaign
No improvement from the previous season - 2,901,933 tons in comparison with the 2,981,400 tons of the 2012/13 campaign. This was due to the weather as well as to the low competitiveness caused by high production costs. In addition, there were issues due to the CTV virus, which affected almost all productive reasons. The Clam (Comité de liaison de l'agrumiculture méditerranéenne) has envisaged the creation of a surveillance network for avoiding the spread of citrus greening in the Mediterranean (so far, the disease has hit the US, China and Brazil).
1,751,273 tons of oranges, 550,582 tons of clementines, 407,170 tons of lemons, 141,758 tons of tangerines, 42,300 tons of bergamots, 7,855 tons of grapefruit, 945 tons of citron and 48 tons of chinottos have been estimated.
In terms of exports, they should be slightly lower than 2012/13: 196,900 against 220,500 tons. Imports have considerably dropped from 281,432 to 194,359 tons.
For what concerns citrus fruit destined for processing, these are the data for the 2013/14 campaign: 320,000 tons of oranges, 85,000 tons of lemons, 43,000 tons of tangerines, 34,000 tons of clementines, 28,000 tons of bergamots. All volumes did well except for bergamots.
2014/15 expectations
The volumes of oranges should be 18-38% lower than 2013-14: volumes of blonde varieties should be 10% lower and they will be more difficult to sell due to many factors such as for example the Russian ban. The production of blood oranges should be 30% less, with a good balance between supply and demand and a rising interest from new markets.
For what concerns tangerines and clementines, volumes should be more or less the same (10% less on average), with a better quality.
Lemon production is expected to increase by 10% between January and April. Quality is excellent and the European markets are expected to be particularly interested, especially since organic lemons are in great demand.