The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) has issued 2025–26 production and trade forecasts for European Union (EU) citrus.
TANGERINES/MANDARINS
EU tangerine and mandarin production in 2025–26 is estimated at 2.794 million metric tons (MMT), down from the 2.97 MMT bumper crop in the previous season.
After years of constant contraction, EU’s tangerine and mandarin area has stabilized at around 144,000 hectares. While Spain’s mandarin and tangerine area continues to contract slightly, Italy reports stability. A tepid increase in area is projected in Greece.
Tangerine and mandarin imports by the EU are forecast at 450,000 metric tons (MT) in 2025–26, down from 555,000 MT the prior year. South Africa, Türkiye, Morocco and Israel are the EU’s leading suppliers of mandarins and tangerines.
EU exports of tangerines/mandarins are projected at 290,000 MT, up from 285,000 MT the prior year.
LEMONS/LIMES
EU lemon production is forecast to decrease for the second year in a row to just over 1.3 MMT. Spain and Italy are the first and second largest EU lemon producers, accounting for nearly 65% and 30% of lemon production, respectively.
The EU area planted in lemons/limes is 86,311 hectares, up from 84,312 hectares in 2024–25.
EU lemon imports are expected to remain relatively stable for 2025–26 at 600,000 MT.
Lemon exports in 2025–26 are forecast at 150,000 MT, up from 140,000 MT the prior year. Main destinations for EU lemons are predominately neighboring markets such as the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway and Serbia.
GRAPEFRUIT
EU grapefruit production is forecast at 126,000 MT, up from 112,000 MT the prior year. The production increase is entirely attributed to Spain, which has more than three-fourths of the EU’s grapefruit production.
Grapefruit imports by the EU are projected at 190,000 MT, down from 200,000 MT the prior year. South Africa, especially in the off season — followed by China, Türkiye and Israel, and the United States to a much lesser extent — are the EU’s main grapefruit suppliers.
EU grapefruit exports are projected to grow to 23,000 MT, up from 21,000 MT the prior year. Exports are fairly concentrated to EU neighboring countries such as the United Kingdom and Switzerland, and to a lesser extent Ukraine, Serbia, Belarus and Norway.
Get a summary of the EU orange and orange juice forecasts here. See the full EU citrus report from USDA FAS here.
Source: USDA FAS
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