World citrus production slips 1.3%

The World Citrus Organisation (WCO) has released its annual Northern Hemisphere Citrus Forecast for the upcoming season (2021-22). The forecast, which will be presented during the second edition of the Global Citrus Congress on 16-17 November, is based on data from Egypt, Greece, Israel, Italy, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, and the US, and shows that citrus production is projected to reach 29.3 million tons, which represents a 1.3% decrease compared to the previous season.

The WCO Secretariat has released its annual Northern Hemisphere Citrus Forecast for the upcoming season (2021-22). The preliminary Forecast is based on data from industry associations from Egypt, Greece, Israel, Italy, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey, in addition to the US (based on USDA reports for Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas). 

Orange production is projected to decrease by 3.5% to 15.5 million tons. A slight decrease is also expected for grapefruit (-0.3%, 947,000 tons) and soft citrus (-0.7%, 8.5 million tons) production. Lemon production, on the other hand, is estimated to increase by 5.6% and reach 4.5 million tons. In the EU, citrus production is forecast to experience a 9.4% fall in Greece, a 7.7% decrease in Spain, and a 2.6% drop in Italy. In the Southern rim of the Mediterranean, production is projected to decrease in Tunisia (-22%), remain stable in Egypt (-0.1%), and increase in Israel (+26.6%), Turkey (+21.9%), and Morocco (+5.5%). The citrus crop in the US is expected to decrease by 11.8% compared to last year.