USDA publishes EU Citrus Fruit Annual Report

Last week the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) published their EU Citrus Annual Report. A combination of drought, water irrigation limitations, and high temperatures have limited the EU’s production potential for marketing year (MY) 2023/24. Forecasts for specific varieties include: Oranges Orange production is expected to decrease by 2% to 5.4 million metric tons (MT) due to declines in Spain’s production caused by drought, as well as production decreases in Portugal and Greece. Exports are forecast to decrease by less than one percent to 340,000 MT, with the EU remaining the world’s top orange exporter. Top export destinations are the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Serbia, and Canada. Tangerines/Mandarins FAS forecasts tangerine/mandarin production will decrease by 5.1% to 2.7 million MT due to poor weather among all major producers. Exports are anticipated to decrease by 24.2% to 225,000 MT due to the lower Spanish production and reduced domestic ...