According to a report by the USDA, citrus production in Mexico during the business year 2013/14 has been affected by various adverse weather events. As such, this year's production forecast for oranges, limes and grapefruit is of 3.9 million metric tonnes (MT), 2.0 MT, and 418,000 MT respectively.
Regarding the business year's export projections of fresh orange, limes and grapefruit, they will amount to 30 MT, 530,000 MT and 19,000 MT. According to these projections, there won't be significant changes in the export volumes of these fruits when compared to the business year 2012/13. The production of concentrated and frozen orange juice for 2013/14 is also expected to be lower than last year.
It's worth noting that Veracruz is the largest producer of fresh oranges in Mexico, with nearly 50% of total production, and that the vast majority of Mexican orange production is of the Valencia variety.
Consumption of fresh orange for 2013/14 is expected to be higher than in 2012/13, and the prices are expected to be good.
Exports in 2013/14, whose numbers depend on the demand from the United States -Mexico's largest export market- and the orange supply from California and Florida, will decrease slightly when compared to the previous year due to a smaller crop.
Expectations are that imports of oranges in 2013/14 will be slightly lower than in 2012/13, when they amounted to 25,000 MT.
1 MT of oranges will be destined for processing in 2013/14, a smaller volume than in 2012/13.
According to industry sources, the production of frozen concentrated orange juice for 2014 (January/December) will amount to 100,000 MT. This, however, largely depends on the international prices of frozen orange juice and the domestic prices of fresh oranges.
