Citrus experts warn of the arrival in Europe of the HLB (Huanglongbing) disease

Orange growing is going through an unprecedented crisis on a global scale, under the threat of the HLB (Huanglongbing) disease, better known as “yellow shoot disease”. This scourge, spread by sucking-biting insects called psyllids, has been devastating citrus plantations for several decades. Today, experts are warning of its imminent arrival in Europe, after destroying millions of trees in America and gaining ground in the Mediterranean. HLB has already caused considerable damage. In Florida, once a pillar of the orange juice industry, production has collapsed in the face of the uncontrolled spread of the disease. In Brazil, the world’s largest producer of oranges, 56 million trees have had to be uprooted in twenty years. In Europe, the first cases of psyllids that carry the disease were reported in Portugal and Spain in 2022, with a worrying progression as far as Cyprus in the summer of 2023. The economic impact is colossal: since 2022, the price of orange juice has tripled, with ...