Global organic citrus fruit more than doubles in ten years

Between 2004, when there was 28,500 ha of organic citrus fruit grown worldwide and 2015, the area more than doubled to nearly 71,000 ha. This latest figure constitutes 0.6% of the world’s total citrus-growing area of 11.1 million ha in 2013 (FAOSTAT). 20% of all organically grown citrus fruit is dedicated to oranges, followed by grapefruit and pomelos (6%), lemons and limes (4%), and tangerines (1%). For 69% of the organic citrus area, no crop detail was available. As no crop details for the organic area were available for some of the world’s leading citrus producers,   (India – 1 million ha and Brazil – 0.8 million ha, according to FAOSTAT), the global organic citrus area is significantly higher than stated above.

In organic agriculture, the largest producer is Italy with almost 32,000 ha, accounting for 20.3% of Italy’s total citrus area, followed by Spain (over 8,000 ha, 2.7%), and Mexico (7,000 ha, 1.2%). Burkina Faso has the highest organic share of citrus fruit with almost 33% of the harvested citrus fruit area. It is followed by Italy and Ghana (16.4%). Available data indicates that at least 20% of the organic citrus area was in-conversion in 2015 (almost 15,000 ha).

Source: FiBL survey 2017