Spanish lemon suppliers are facing a challenging market as the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic tightens its grip on Europe. With much of the hospitality industry closed or operating under restrictions, sales through the wholesale channel continue to be severely disrupted.

However, retail sales are holding up relatively well, albeit under considerable pressure on prices. José Antonio García of Ailimpo said supermarkets were being ‘excessively aggressive’ with regard to price. Markets are well supplied this season thanks to a 14 per cent increase in Spanish Fino production and good availability of competitively priced Turkish lemons due to the devalued Turkish lira. Producers remain hopeful, however, that demand will pick up in the coming weeks so that markets don’t become oversupplied.

“The market is still profitable, just less profitable than in previous years,” García commented, “Growers without GlobalGAP and GRASP certification who have failed to adapt to this new landscape will have fewer and fewer options to sell their crop and eventually be forced out of the market.” His comments came as agricultural union Asaja-Murcia called for the government to intervene to help struggling producers. Secretary general Alfonso Gálvez Caravaca warned that many small producers and family businesses could disappear unless they received urgent financial assistance. FruitNet

Mexico has once again surpassed Brazil as the major supplier of orange juice to the United States.

Although the dollar amount of orange juice shipped to the US between January and June is half as much as it was last year, Mexico exported USD142 million of juice in the first six months of 2020, considerably more than Brazil’s USD91 million.  Mexico exported USD333 million worth of juice last year, beating Brazil by USD3 million. A recent study by CitrusBR, an organization representing the three largest Brazilian exporters of orange juice, showed that sales from Mexico to the United States have skyrocketed since 2008, when US customs eliminated tariffs on imports of concentrated and frozen orange juice from Mexico as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

In contrast, US imports of orange juice from Brazil pay a tariff of USD 415.86 per tonne.

In 1993, when the US tax on juice from all sources was still USD490.02, Brazil exported 144,500 tonnes of concentrated and frozen orange juice to the United States. That volume has dropped to just 71,100 tonnes in 2019. According to CitrusBR, Mexico’s exports of concentrated and frozen orange juice went from 9,800 to 74,700 tonnes in the same period.

“With a good quality product, similar to that produced in Florida, and land freight around 50% cheaper than Brazilian maritime logistics, the Mexican product continues to gain [ground],” Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico reported in reference to the CitrusBR study.

The United States Department of Agriculture forecasts that Mexico’s exports for the 2019-2020 season will total 104,850 tonnes, as drought has decimated the orange production affecting the supplies available for processing. The vast majority of concentrated and frozen orange juice production in Mexico is destined for export to the United States. There is some small trade with Europe, depending on prices. Likewise, Mexico imports a small amount of orange juice for supermarkets or small processors that have their own juice brands. Mexico has 342,885 hectares of orange orchards, 55% of which are located in Veracruz. Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo and Sonora also produce oranges. This year the heat and drought are expected to drop Mexico’s orange production per hectare by 34%. Most of Mexico’s orange trees are older, and therefore harder hit by the drought than other fruits. El Economista 

Fruit growers and processors say they are crushed by a decision to cut the health star rating (HSR) for 100% no-added-sugar juices from five stars to as low as two stars. The Australian and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation, a group made up of state and territory ministers, met to consider its response to recommendations as part of the five-year HSR review.

A communique from the forum released days after the event, indicated that a decision would be made on ratings for 100% and vegetable juices in February 2021. The Federal Government’s aim in developing the ratings is to give shoppers an easy way to identify better choices of packaged and processed foods, something Agriculture Minister David Littleproud asserts is undermined by the recommendation.

“What I don’t accept is the insanity of this decision, which really has no basis on nutritional value — it really just is mind-numbingly dumb,” he said.

Last chance to improve the HSR

Food is rated from half-a-star to five stars depending on how its healthy and risk nutrients compare but the system has come in for criticism. The forum’s July 2020 communique revealed Mr Littleproud’s initial push — to see 100% fresh fruit and vegetable juice with no added sugar receive an automatic HSR score of five stars — was not supported and the review recommendations were maintained. Citrus Australia chief executive Nathan Hancock said he was disappointed with the decision.”It sends a really poor message to our consumers, who, let’s face it, need to have more fruit and vegetables,” he said. “Being told that diet soda is better for them than a juice product, we think, is confusing. Because diet soft drinks have artificial sugars, it elevates them above juices which have natural sugars.” ABC.net.au

The increased demand is attributed to people working from home, and the thought a compound found in oranges can fend off coronavirus. Production of Florida oranges is now forecast to be about 17% below last season’s output, while the industry has seen a surge in demand linked to people staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic and rediscovering breakfast.

An updated forecast from the US Department of Agriculture (mid December) reduced by about 2% the current growing season forecast for production of oranges and grapefruit, which were already projected to be below the yield from the 2019-2020 growing season. The Florida Department of Citrus considered the revised forecast a sign the industry is ‘relatively stable.’

After the first forecast for the season was released back in October, the Florida Citrus Commission voted to increase a tax that growers pay on each box of oranges to help cover a USD9.8 million global marketing campaign. That campaign is part of an effort to keep up a surge in juice sales spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. The change increased the box tax growers pay from 7 cents for each 90-pound box of oranges they fill to 12 cents per box. Grapefruit and specialty fruits remained at 7 cents a box.

The work-from-home trend, along with a belief from many people that a compound found in oranges called hesperidin provides a layer of protection from respiratory illnesses, has driven orange juice to supermarket sales unseen in years. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried commented: “With citrus as a powerful source of Vitamin C, antioxidants, and fibre, Florida’s citrus growers are working hard to fulfil market demand for oranges, grapefruit, and specialty citrus. With these projections in line with an expected smaller 2020-21 citrus crop, we at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services stand ready to support our proud citrus growers with research, innovation, and partnership.”

About 95% of Florida’s orange crop, still the largest in the nation, is processed into juice. If projections hold, orange production would decline for a second straight year in an industry that has struggled against residential and commercial development, foreign imports and citrus greening, an incurable bacterial disease. The updated federal forecast has growers in Florida producing enough oranges to fill 56 million 90-pound boxes, down from 57 million boxes projected in the October forecast, which opened the growing season. The season continues into July. Just over two decades ago, Florida growers grew enough oranges for more than 200 million boxes a season. The industry uses 90-pound boxes as a standard measurement. Wusfnews