The US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agriculture Service has reported that consumption of Italian citrus is set to fall significantly over the coming season, with purchases of fresh oranges in particular likely to be down 22 per cent on the year.
The majority of Italy's orange production is consumed fresh and is dominated by the so-called 'blood' red-fleshed varieties – Tarocco, Moro and Sanguinello – as well as later varieties like Ovale and Valencia.
While much of the crop is consumed on the domestic market, exports make up a sizeable portion of sales with Germany, Switzerland, and Austria taking the largest volumes.
Italian tangerine consumption, meanwhile, is forecast to be in line with 2011/12, with the majority of sales occurring in the winter and exports mainly to Poland, Slovenia, Hungary and Germany.
Lemon consumption is expected to be 3 per cent lower than the previous year, with Germany taking the lion's share of exported fruit.
"Farmers are forecast to deliver 80,000 tonnes of lemons to the processing industry," the report added.
Falling output
In terms of production, Italy's citrus volume is set to fall significantly this season following adverse weather conditions during the spring.
According to the report, orange production in the country will decrease by 23 per cent, while soft citrus and lemon output is set to fall 3 per cent and 4.3 per cent respectively.
"Fruit size is good, but probably early varieties will be on delay in ripening, while late ones will be ready in advance," the report. "Quality is good. Sicily and Calabria are the main orange-producing areas, accounting for 59 and 22 per cent respectively."
Planted area in Italy for soft citrus and lemons has been decreasing progressively, the report said, with higher input costs and lower market prices having a detrimental effect on the profitability of crops.
There is likely to be notably more stability in the Italian grapefruit sector this season. Production and consumption are expected to remain steady and exports will continue to be focused mainlhy on Germany, France and Poland.
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