Lemon and grapefruit crops will be smaller than the previous year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) stated in a recent report on Turkey citrus. The country’s orange juice (OJ) production is forecast to stay the same.
LEMONS
Turkey’s 2022–23 fresh lemon production forecast is 1.32 million metric tons (MMT), 11% lower than the previous season. The reduction is due to freezing temperatures during blossoming in March 2022.
Retail prices for lemons are currently seven times higher than the farm gate price. Low farm gate prices and low domestic demand have reportedly discouraged some growers from harvesting the current lemon crop. Especially in the Hatay region, where most lemons are produced, fruit was not harvested due to a labor shortage after a major earthquake this February.
Lemon exports are expected to decrease 13% to 600,000 metric tons (MT) due to the lower harvest and lower demands from foreign markets. However, the total value is expected to be $275 million, similar to last year,
due to higher prices, especially for exports to Russia. Russia is the most important export market for Turkey.
Imports are expected to be at 3,500 MT in 2022–23, lower than the 3,967 MT imported the prior year.
GRAPEFRUIT
Turkey’s fresh grapefruit production in 2022–23 is forecast at 198,000 MT, 20% lower than the previous year due to freezing temperatures in March 2022.
In 2022–23, grapefruit exports are expected to be 15% lower than 2021–22, at 126,000 MT. The main export destinations in 2021–22 were Russia, Poland and Romania. The most exported grapefruit variety is Star Ruby.
Grapefruit imports are projected at 1,000 MT, down from 4,000 MT the prior season.
OJ
OJ production in 2022–23 is forecast at 10,000 MT, the same as 2021–22.
The amount of oranges sent to processing plants remained unchanged at 110,000 MT. The Turkish fruit processing industry is still under development.
OJ exports are forecast at 3,500 MT for 2022–23, almost the same as the previous season. Exports in 2021–22 were primarily to Italy, the Netherlands and Iraq.
OJ imports are estimated to increase to 2,500 MT in 2022–23 due to a slight increase in demand from the domestic market. Turkey imported 2,200 MT of OJ in 2021–22, mostly from Cyprus, Israel and Italy.
See the full USDA FAS report on Turkey citrus here.
Source: USDA FAS
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