China production forecasts are increased for both mandarin/tangerine and grapefruit/pomelo crops in 2023–24 compared to the prior year. The forecasts were issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS).
MANDARINS/TANGERINES
China’s mandarin/tangerine production is forecast at 26.9 million metric tons (MMT) in 2023–24, up from 26.5 MMT the previous year. The increase is because of a larger crop in Hunan, Hubei, Guangxi and Jiangxi due to favorable weather.
The growing area for 2023–24 increased by 50 hectares to 890,050 hectares as growers expanded fields in an effort to rebound from earlier bouts of citrus greening disease.
Guangxi is the largest citrus-producing region in China, representing one-third of the country’s total crop. In Guangxi, over half of the citrus products are mandarins and tangerines.
Chinese imports of mandarins and tangerines are expected to reach 70,000 metric tons (MT) in 2023–24, up 4% from the prior year. Top suppliers to China include South Africa, Australia, Peru and Uruguay. Other suppliers include Morocco, Spain, Chile, the United States, Egypt and Vietnam.
Chinese exports of mandarins and tangerines in 2023–24 are expected to increase to 780,000 MT, up 3% from the prior year. Top export destinations are Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, Russia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Hong Kong.
GRAPEFRUITS/POMELOS
Chinese pomelo and grapefruit production in 2023–24 is forecast to be up slightly to 5.2 MMT, due to favorable weather in Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces.
Meizhou in Guangdong and Pinghe in Fujian are the two major production areas for pomelo and grapefruit. Other areas for these fruits include Guangxi, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hainan and Guizhou provinces.
Chinese pomelo and grapefruit imports are expected to remain flat at 75,000 MT in 2023–24. Major suppliers include South Africa, Thailand, Egypt and Israel.
Pomelo and grapefruit exports in 2023–24 are expected to continue the upward trend, reaching 160,000 MT. That’s up from 152,279 MT the prior year. The top 10 export markets are Russia, Netherlands, Kyrgyzstan, Romania, the United States, Lithuania, Ukraine, Hong Kong, Canada and Germany.
See the full USDA FAS report on China.
Source: USDA FAS