EU turns to Egypt for citrus imports

While Spain remains the EU’s leading citrus producer, the Iberian country’s production fell from just under 7 million tons in 2006 to just over 5 million tons in 2017. The continent’s next leading producer, Italy, also saw its citrus production fall over the same period, from around 3.8 million tons to 2.6 million tons.  Greece and Portugal have seen their productions remain fairly steady. According to Eurostat data, Italy’s orange production fluctuated greatly over the period, even overtaking Spain in 2010, when it reached its peak production of 3.7 million tons, before slumping to just over 1.5 million tons in 2017. Meanwhile, Spanish production fluctuated annually between around 2.8 million tons and 3.6 million tons. Orange imports from outside the EU climbed steadily from 2013 to 2018, from 810,000 tons to 1.03 million tons. The main source remains South Africa (440,000 tons in 2017/2018). However, Egyptian oranges are now providing stiff competition, with import volumes rocketing from 100,000 tons in 2010/11 to 325,000 tons in 2017/2018.