European Union (EU) mandarin production for 2020-21 is forecast to rise 10 percent from the previous year, to 3.1 million metric tons (MMT). The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) reported this figure. The higher production is mainly the result of expected increases in major mandarin-producing nations Spain and Italy.
Spain’s production is forecast to rise strongly to approximately 2 MMT. Spain’s main mandarin-producing areas are Valencia, Andalusia and Catalonia. Spain continues to develop new early and late seedless varieties to extend fruit availability throughout the year.
Italy’s mandarin production is forecast to increase by 8 percent to 825,000 metric tons. More than 80 percent of Italy’s mandarin production is seedless clementines. Calabria, Sicily and Puglia are Italy’s main mandarin-producing areas.
Greece’s mandarin production is expected to increase by 2.2 percent to 178,000 metric tons. Portugal’s production is expected to decline to 34,000 metric tons, from 40,000 metric tons the prior season. Production in Cyprus is expected to climb from 25,000 metric tons last season to 30,000 metric tons this season.
EU mandarins are mainly consumed fresh. Spain is the major consumer of mandarins in the EU for both fresh consumption and processing. Italy and Portugal also consume large quantities of mandarins. Greece consumes fresh mandarins mainly along the west coast.
The EU is a net importer of mandarins. South Africa and Morocco continue to be the leading suppliers, followed by Turkey, Israel and Peru. Last season, imports of South African mandarins grew 25 percent, and imports from Turkey jumped 83 percent. In 2019-20, the volume of imports from the United States decreased 2.6 percent at a value of $6 million due to a shorter U.S. crop. In 2020-21, imports of mandarins are expected to drop as a result of the estimated increase in EU production.
See the full FAS report on EU citrus here.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service
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