Citrus production in the Southern Hemisphere is expected to be almost 10 per cent higher this season, with exports set to rise by an anticipated 4 per cent in line with higher market demand.
During a conference call chaired by Brussels-based association Freshfel Europe, the Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters (Shaffe) published its latest figures relating to production and exports, noting significant increases in the volume of oranges, lemons and grapefruit due to be shipped.
Compared with the corrseponding figures for 2012, this year's orange, lemon and grapefruit production is due to increase by 14.02 per cent, 6.27 per cent and 2.89 per cent respectively to 3.48m tonnes, 2.15m tonnes and just over 527,850 tonnes.
Lemon exports across the Southern Hemisphere are forecast up 10.62 per cent to more than 520,000 tonnes year-on-year, grapefruit exports should be around 15.1 per cent higher at nearly 230,000 tonnes and orange exports should rise 2.21 per cent to 1,43m tonnes.
For mandarins, the other category monitored by Shaffe, production is due to be 7.75 per cent higher at 985,610 tonnes, but exports are due to fall 3.42 per cent to approimately 405,000 tonnes.
Importantly, overall citrus production (7.15m tonnes) is set to return to more or less the ten-year average for 2003-2012, while exports (2.59m tonnes) will be 11.5 per cent higher against the equivalent figure.
Ups and downs
Peru appears to be continuing its recent rise in exports, predicting a 10 per cent increase across all categories for an expected total of more than 90,000 tonnes. While production in the country should be up by a quarter in 2013, exports still represent less than ten per cent of its national citrus crop of 1.02m tonnes.
While South Africa and Australia look set to boost their exports significantly this season, by 3.99 per cent and 20.15 per cent respectively to 1.6m tonnes and 176,500 tonnes, Uruguay is not set for such a productive season, forecasting a 17.5 per cent decrease in exports to below 120,000 tonnes.
Argentina's export volume is likely to be up 6.31 per cent to 433,000 tonnes – 23 per cent down on the ten-year average – while Chile is in for a year of consolidation, exporting around 164,350 tonnes (-1.75 per cent).
The full data and market analysis can be found on Freshfel's website.
