Global production of oranges and soft citrus will increase in 2021 as lemons and limes fall

Global production of oranges and soft citrus will increase slightly in 2021, while lemons are expected to decline, a USDA report noted. The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) semi-annual report said orange production is forecast to increase 7% to 49.4 million tonnes. This was thanks to the favorable climate that led to larger harvests in Brazil and Mexico, offsetting the decreases in Turkey and the United States. Orange production in the EU from Egypt is also forecast to increase in the 2020-21 season, and a small rebound is also expected in South Africa in 2021. Global mandarin production is forecast to increase slightly to 33.1 million tonnes with higher supplies in China, the EU, Morocco, Turkey and the US Lemons and limes are the only citrus category in which a decline is forecast, the report noted. Volumes were estimated to fall slightly to 8.3 million tonnes with lower production in Argentina and the United States offsetting gains in the European Union and Mexico. ...