W40: WEEKLY LEMON AND LIME UPDATE

China

Chinese Citrus Industry Experiencing Issues Due to Extreme Weather (Oct 8)

China has experienced the worst drought and extreme heat since the national record in 1961. The high temperatures lasted for nearly three months. The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Sichuan and Chongqing regions have been affected by summer and summer droughts in a wide range and intensity. The citrus industry in Zigui and Hubei has been affected by the continuous drought for nearly 10K hectares, with an economic loss of USD 29.3M (RMB 210M). Guandukou Town, Badong County, and Hubei Province face a risk of losing 40000 mu of citrus. Jingyan County and Sichuan Province have reduced their output of more than 80000 mu of citrus, and Chenggu County and Shaanxi Province are expected to reduce their output of citrus by around 20-30% this year.

Brazil

Brazilian Tahiti Acid Lime Exporters are Still Awaiting Clearances to Export to the EU (Oct 3)

Tahiti lime exporters in São Paulo, Brazil, which had their exports suspended due to cases of citrus canker, are anxiously awaiting the release of the authorities to resume exports to the EU, the primary destination for Brazilian lemons. Although there is verbal authorization from packing houses, this will not mean the resumption of exports yet, as farms and producing areas are still being inspected, and documentation has not been released for this level of lime production. The forecast is that the producing regions will be authorized to resume exports at the end of October.

Tahiti Lime Prices and Quality in Brazil Increased in W40 (Oct 7)

Tahiti Lime growers in Brazil are reporting a significant increase in the value of their prices due to production costs increase. In W40, FOB price to Santos stood at USD 3.99-4.38, while price to Netherlands stood at USD 8.76-11.68. The lime quality will increase from W40 until the end of the year due to the rains and the arrival of summer, which brings a greater incidence of sun, converging in larger and greener fruits.

Botswana

Botswana Citrus Growers Join the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (Oct 3)

Citrus growers in Botswana have become members of the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA), joining over 1400 existing members from South Africa, Eswatini and Zimbabwe. With the addition of Botswana, the CGA now represents just over 1564 citrus growers in Southern Africa. There are currently 164 citrus growers in Botswana, with 94% of these being small-scale farmers that produce citrus on less than 5ha with the remaining 6% falling into the category of medium to large scale farmers.

Egypt

Egyptian Eureka Lemon Season Commences With 15% Lower Production Expected (Oct 4)

The first week of October (W40) marked the first production of Eureka lemons for the 2022/23 season which is Egypt’s main lemon variety. The quality this season appears promising although the color is still green, but that is normal for the start of the season. Most suppliers will begin exports by the second week of October (W42). The overall quality looks good for this season but the production volume is expected to be 15% lower compared to the 2021/22 season.

Italy

Italy: Citrus Campaign in Sicily Is at Risk (Oct 3)

The 2022-2023 citrus campaign in Sicily is at risk, caught in a perfect storm of double-digit increases in logistics, energy, packaging and raw materials.

Spain

Spain Prepares for a Shorter Harvest of Lemons and Grapefruit (Oct 4)

Higher yields from new plantations will only partially offset production losses caused by severe weather conditions. Spain forecasts a 10% decrease in lemon and grapefruit production in 2022/23 according to the latest Ailimpo estimate. The interprofessional has set the next lemon harvest at 1.09 million tons, while the grapefruit harvest is expected to reach 76,000 tons.

EU Citrus Production and Imports Decline Amid New Regulations (Oct 7)

The Spanish citrus season is about to start with a projected 15.6% production decline. Similarly, overall EU production is expected to decrease by 5% YoY due to extreme weather conditions. Additionally, citrus imports in the EU have recorded a YoY decline of 7.4% in the first half of 2022 after the new cold treatment regulation is now enforced. With a new campaign expected to be the lowest in the last ten years, the imposition of cold treatment for orange imports from third countries will be a critical factor in the 2022/23 EU citrus campaign development.

Spanish Citrus Harvest Expected to Decrease 15.6% YoY to Under 6MMT (Oct 7)

The 2022/23 Spanish citrus harvest is forecast at around 6MMT, which will be 1.1MMT less compared to last season and 878,000 less than the five year average. Oranges are set to experience the greatest drop from 3,7MMT last season to 3MMT this season, which marks a 20% decline. Similarly but to a lesser extent volumes of small citrus will be down by 9.8%, lemons down by 12.4% and grapefruit down by 13.7%. The main reason for the low production volume is excessive rains during flowering and fruit setting, and extremely high temperatures and restrictions on irrigation in the later stages of fruit development.

Turkey

Turkey as Alternative Citrus Import Market for Japan Towards the End of 2022 (Oct 7)

Lemon warehouse stocks in Japan will be low by November 2022, with arrivals from Chile ending in October along with delayed and limited arrivals from the US. The market for US lemon purchases is also affected by higher import costs caused by a weaker Japanese Yen. As a result, Turkey is becoming the primary target of an alternative source. Japanese importers have been negotiating to secure lemon, navel, and mandarin by bargaining with the charter vessel, dispatching an agronomist for better quality, and installing support for Brix sensors at the packing facility.

United Arab Emirates

Extremely Low Lemon Prices in W40 Due to High Supply in the UAE (Oct 5)

In the last 4-5 years, this year has been one of the toughest for South African lemons in the UAE market, as lemons have been selling at extremely low prices. In W40, first-class lemon prices stand at USD 6.81, while second-class lemon prices stand at USD 7.62 per 15kg box. The reason is that most large-scale importers imported a higher volume than in 2021, resulting in many lemons being unsold and stored in their warehouses with the hope that the rates will pick up.

Source: https://www.tridge.com/stories/w40-weekly-lemon-and-lime-update