Citrus producers worldwide battle for market share

The past season was one of mixed
fortunes for the citrus sector in the
southern hemisphere – mostly bad,
which along with soft consumer
demand worldwide decreased exports.
As the citrus production baton is
now being passed to the northern
hemisphere, a similar picture is likely
to emerge.
At a recent teleconference call
organised by the Southern Hemisphere
Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters
(SHAFFE) and Freshfel Europe,
citrus-producing countries from north
and south provided statistics and
projections and suggested that shipping
lines and perishable transporters
remain flexible about moving where
exports are predicted to be better.
SA’s own volumes were mixed, with
orange production down but grapefruit
production comfortably up (16.1m
cartons shipped compared to 12.1m in
2010).
Argentina’s citrus exporters
reported “poor” production in 2011
without offering figures, and said
grapefruit production was the lowest in
ten years.
But Australia had a boom crop, 30%
higher than last year, flooding the
domestic market and resulting in good
volumes exported to Asia.
In the months ahead in northern
hemisphere citrus producing nations –
excluding the US – EU countries are
expecting a production decline, unlike
non-EU countries in the vicinity.
“Based on the supply data, several
concerns remain. Grapefruit is a
particular case in point, with falling
demand. Outlook for oranges is
uncertain. In southern Europe markets
were stacked over the summer months
and some movements are only taking
place now. Asian markets have not
been strong either and Russia remains
uncertain. For the trade it remains
difficult to raise prices at retail level as
once they have been lowered, it
is a challenge in the current
environment to move prices upwards,”
an analysis of the citrus producers’
submissions concluded.