Oranges in Charts: Florida’s volumes fall while Chile’s rise

Having been affected by diseases and hurricanes, Florida’s citrus production is currently less than a third of what it was a decade ago. For many years Florida was the leading citrus producer in the U.S. However, now California holds that title.

The chart below shows Florida’s decline over the last several years, with the state dropping almost 100 million boxes since 2010. Over the same period, Chile has seen significant growth with its orange volumes in the U.S. market.

Since 2017, volumes of fresh oranges from both regions have been similar.

Despite the slight recovery in 2018, the start of the 2019 fresh orange season in Florida saw a lighter crop. In fact, its volume was lower than in the last five years, as can be seen below.

In 2018, shipments of Chilean oranges in the U.S. market were the highest since 2010. The country’s current season is now getting into full swing.

Despite the lower volumes received by the U.S. market at the start of the year, prices have remained stable or on a slight downward trend relative to previous years, as can be seen in the chart below.

We will be following how the orange market behaves, especially with Chile’s supplies over the coming months. According to Juan Enrique Ortúzar, president of the Chilean Citrus Committee, orange exports are expected to drop by around 3% year-on-year to 97,000 metric tons.

Written by: Cristian Crespo
Original published in FreshFruitPortal.com on June 4, 2019 (Link)