Despite a dip in production from the two largest orange-producing regions in Brazil, the fresh orange crop for the 2014-2015 season is expected to be larger than the one from the previous season.
The fresh orange crop for the 2014-2015 season is expected to reach 425 million boxes, according to a report released by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. That haul, if it pans out, would be an increase of six percent over the previous season's crop. The two largest orange-producing regions in the country, Sao Paulo and the western part of Minas Gerais, are expected to produce 310 million boxes, which is 10 million boxes short of what they produced the previous season.
Domestic prices for fresh oranges for the first quarter of 2014 were reported as being the highest they've been during a first quarter of the year since 2011. Fruit yield for the 2013-2014 is estimated at 2.07 boxes per tree, and planted area is expected to hold steady at 715,000 hectares.
