Citrus production in the Mediterranean Basin is forecast to rise two per cent this season.
Figures released by European fresh produce trade association Freshfel Europe show expected gains for the Spanish crop of 23 per cent to 6.5 million tonnes, while output in Italy, the region’s second-largest producer, is expected to fall by almost a quarter to 2.68mt. Growers in Turkey are expecting a recovery on 2007-08 to the tune of four per cent as are growers in Israel, and Moroccan volumes are forecast to rise to 1.3mt, an increase of 10 per cent. Production in Egypt is expected to decline by 10 per cent to 2.5mt.
Freshfel Europe also released figures from the US, which is expecting a 16 per cent decline on volumes from 2007-08 to 4mt. This is mainly due to a forecast lower orange crop, which is likely to come in 29 per cent down on 2007-08, but grapefruit volumes are also expected to pack out below last season’s levels by some 12 per cent.
The grapefruit job in the northern hemisphere looks as though it could be strong, with production in Turkey forecast to drop by 18 per cent to 200,000t and Israel’s crop set to fall by six per cent to 220,000t.
Across the hemisphere, lemon production - which has experienced supply problems and high pricing over the past year - is boosted by a 50 per cent increase in the Spanish crop and should see production in the US and Mediterranean Basin go up by 17 per cent.
Meanwhile, easy peeler volumes are likely to rise by just two per cent on last season in the Mediterranean and the US as gains in Spain, Morocco and Turkey are countered by a fall in Italy, Egypt, Cyprus and Israel.
Orange output is predicted to be just one per cent down in the Mediterranean Basin, and Freshfel Europe is predicting a strong pull through for supplies from the Russian market. By far the largest producer is Spain and it is forecasting a 28 per cent recovery on last season to 3.45mt.
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