A new report by the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) has forecast that EU citrus production will drop slightly during 2012/13, down to 5.6m tonnes.
According to the estimate, Spanish production will account for 2.9m tonnes, up from 2.77m tonnes in 2011/12, driven by an increase of Andalusian groves.
However Italy, the second-largest citrus producer in the EU, is expecting a drop in production of 24 per cent year-on-year, down from 2m tonnes in 2011/12 to 1.55m tonnes this year.
Greece, with 914,000 tonnes, and Portugal with 206,300 tonnes, are set to enjoy slight increases, the FAS said, with Cyprus expected to have a stable crop at 24,000 tonnes.
