Global citrus production on the rise
Oranges
In the United States, production is expected to decrease by 16 percent to 6.3 million tons. Over the past three years, US production declined steadily from about 8 million tons to more than 6 million tons. Export to Canada and South Korea decreases, making the export volume drop 20 percent.
An increase of 6 percent for Brazil is expected, making the volume amount to 17.3 million tons. This increase is due to a superior harvest and favourable weather conditions. Two thirds of production is processed, the remainder is almost entirely used for fresh consumption.
The European harvest was 6.1 million tons, an increase of 3 percent. The increase was similarly due to favourable weather conditions. Imports remained stable, with South Africa and Egypt as the main suppliers. The consumption of fresh oranges is expected to drop, as according to the estimates more oranges will be processed.
Mandarins / clementines
Where mandarins are concerned, a record 26 million tons is expected, an increase of 5 percent from last year. China is the largest producer of this type of citrus, with an expected harvest of over 18 million tons. Since 2009, the volume grew by 4 million tons. The Moroccan volumes grew from 635,000 tons in 2009 to an estimated harvest of 1.2 tons this year. The EU is recuperating after a year of contraction to 3 million tons.
Main exporters of mandarins are China, Turkey and Morocco who together export over 1.7 million tons. China leads with 750,000 tons. The largest importers are Russia, EU and Ukraine. Russian imports are projected to reach 840 000 tons, the EU and Ukraine are estimated at 370,000 and 200,000 tons, respectively.
Grapefruit
An increase of 5 percent for grapefruit is generally estimated, resulting in a harvest of 6.2 million tons. In South Africa and the United States, the volume decreases, but this is completely offset by additional growth in China. The Chinese volumes swell from 2.9 million tons in 2009 to 3.8 million tons this year. Last year, the grapefruit harvest amounted to 3.4 million tons. The United States go from just 1.2 million tons last year to an estimated 955,000 tons this year. Production in South Africa plummets from 434,000 tons to 390,000 tons this tear. European production amounted to 120,000 tons.
Biggest exporters are South Africa, Turkey, China and the United States. The South African exports amounted to 220,000 tons, for the other countries it’s 170,000, 160,000 and 150,000 tons respectively. The EU, Russia and Japan are the largest importers of grapefruit; they account for more than 600,000 tons.
Lemons and limes
For lemons and limes, a 5 percent drop is expected. This corresponds to 5.9 million tons of lemons and limes. The frost in Argentina has little impact on the trade in fresh lemons and limes, as the South American country will process less in order to keep export levels up. The largest producer of this type of citrus is Mexico with an estimated volume of 2 million tons. Second-largest is the EU with 1.3 million tons, an increase over the 1.2 million tons a year earlier. Argentine volumes drop from 1.3 million tons in 2012 to 750,000 tons this year. Turkey sees its volumes rise from 680,000 tons to 760,000 tons this year.
Mexico, Turkey and Argentina are the top 3 largest exporters of lemons and limes. Mexico tops the list with 530,000 tons, followed by Turkey (440,000 tons) and Argentina (250,000 tons). Most lemons and limes find their way to the United States, which imported 480,000 tons. Second in line is the EU with 440,000 tons followed by Russia with 200,000 tons.