Promising outlook for Australia’s citrus campaign

Australian citrus producers are optimistic about the forthcoming campaign, due to favourable conditions, after above average rainfalls in all of the major growing areas across 2020 and 2021. Most irrigation storage dams are now at or near capacity, supporting the irrigation programme for the 2021/22 crop. According to USDA data, orange production is forecast to rise 2% YoY to 535,000 tons, and tangerine/mandarin production is expected to increase by 6% to 190,000 tons.  Orange exports are forecast at 190,000 tons, a 19% increase over 2020/21, and tangerine/mandarin exports are set to reach a record 90,000 tons. To address labour shortages, the Federal Government has established a new Agricultural Work visa with the pilot commencing at the end of 2021.