Drop in Brazilian orange crop
The Brazilian orange crop is estimated to reach 407 million boxes for the 2012-2013 season. This represents an almost 20 percent drop from last season's production. A report by the United States Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service cited a drop in the number of growers involved in citrus as a factor in this season's lower production. As a result of prices that many growers found unfair last season, many growers turned to other crops.
Predictably, less growers meant less groves from which oranges were harvested. While the land dedicated to citrus last season was 800,000 hectares, that figure went down this season to 740,000 hectares. Further diminishing this season's output were poorer yields. While growers got an average of 2.24 boxes per tree last season, this season's yield was down 15 percent to 1.9 boxes per tree. Total Brazilian orange exports for the season are expected to reach 500,000.
