Citrus production in the northern hemisphere forecast to decline slightly

During the online edition of the Global Citrus Congress, the WCO (World Citrus Organization) secretariat presented its forecast for 2020/21 citrus production in the northern hemisphere.

 

 

 

For its forecasts, the Secretariat of the WCO (World Citrus Organization) collected data from associations in Egypt, Greece, Israel, Italy, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey and the United States (California and Florida). The 2020-21 citrus harvest in the Northern Hemisphere is expected to reach 28,737,570 tonnes. That is 1% less than the 2019 harvest.

 

 

 

This decrease is the result of the alternation phenomenon in some countries compared to last year, as well as the impact of the droughts recorded in several production regions of the northern hemisphere.

 

 

 

By citrus category, orange should drop by 2%, lemon by 7% and grapefruit by 9%. On the contrary, the tangerine clementines (+ 5%). By region, European production is forecast to increase, with + 12% for Italy and Spain. For the other countries around the Mediterranean, Egypt (-8%), Israel (- 4%), Turkey (-15%) but Morocco (+ 13%) and Tunisia (+ 20%). US production is expected to drop 9% from the previous year, with California lowering its forecast by 5% and Florida by 14%.

 

 

 

The 1st edition of the Global Citrus Congress, co-organized by WCO (World Citrus Organization) was held online with more than 1,300 participants from 60 countries. The event was an opportunity for the industry to detail trade trends and highlight the consumer boom recorded since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.