Florida - Monday February 5, 2024: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS), citrus greening disease is taking its toll on Brazilian orange, and orange juice production, which are both forecast to decline once the final numbers are in for the 2023-24 harvest season.
ORANGE PRODUCTION
Citrus Industry This Week this week reports on the USDA projections which forecasts that the total Brazilian 2023–24 orange crop will be 408 million 40.8-kilogram boxes, a decrease of 1.03% from the prior year. The USDA report cites citrus greening disease. And Brazilian orange acreage has fallen to 590,000 hectares, down 10,000 hectares from the prior year.
Total fresh orange exports for 2023–24 are projected at virtually zero, just like the previous season.
JUICE PRODUCTION
Citrus Industry this week also reports that Brazilian frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) production for 2023–24 is forecast to drop 1.6% from the prior season, according to the USDA.
Orange juice production is concentrated in the state of São Paulo, followed by Minas Gerais and Paraná.
Around 30% of Brazil’s orange production is destined for the fresh market, and 70% is used for juice processing.
See the full USDA FAS report on Brazilian citrus here.