US dependent on Mexican citrus

Consumption of fresh citrus on the US market totalled 3.9 million tons in 2018. Oranges only account for 47% of total citrus consumption and soft citrus represents only 19%. Instead, market share is higher than in the EU for lime (13%), lemon (13%) and grapefruit (8%). In 2017, US imports of citrus totalled 944,000 tons, having climbed steadily from 580,000 in 2008. Around 43% of imported citrus to the US is sourced from neighbouring Mexico, with the next largest supplier being Chile (29%), followed by South Africa (7.7%), Peru (6%) and Morocco (5.4%). As the US has its own large orange and soft citrus production in Florida and California, lemon and lime represent the largest category of imported citrus (44%).