European Union (EU) grapefruit production is forecast to remain stable in 2020-21 at 96,000 metric tons, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) reported. EU area planted to the crop stands at about 3,300 hectares.
Spain, the EU’s largest grapefruit producer, expects its production to remain flat at 73,000 metric tons. The leading producing areas in Spain include the regions of Murcia, Andalusia and Valencia. Ruby Red is Spain’s primary grapefruit variety.
Cyprus is the EU’s second largest producer and is expected to produce 16,000 metric tons. White Marsh seedless, mostly grown in the Limassol area, is the leading Cypriot variety.
Italy is forecast to produce 5,215 metric tons; 86 percent of its production is in Sicily.
Greek production is forecast at 3,000 metric tons. Major producing areas are the prefectures of Corinth and Kavala, the region of Thessaly and the island of Crete.
EU grapefruit is mainly consumed fresh, with consumption significantly surpassing production. In 2020-21, consumption is forecast to remain flat.
The EU is a net importer of grapefruit; imports comprise around 75 percent of its total supply. During 2019-20, imports increased almost 5 percent to 340,035 metric tons with a value of $285 million. China, South Africa, Turkey, Israel and the United States are the leading suppliers to the union. Imports from the U.S. dropped 15 percent in 2019-20, to almost 11,000 metric tons with a value of $14.5 million.
Additional tariffs imposed by the union in November 2020 related to a World Trade Organization case against U.S. aircraft subsidies on U.S. products, including grapefruit, may impact imports from the U.S. in 2020-21. Mexico is another active supplier of grapefruit to the EU. Due to the expected stability in EU grapefruit production, imports are expected to remain flat in 2020-21.
See the full FAS report on EU citrus here.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service
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