Orange wholesale prices

Orange fresh-market quotation

Orange retail prices in supermarkets

Orange projections assume that orange production expansion will slow down. The main reasons are serious disease problems in Brazil and Florida and fewer new plantings elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere due to the lagged effect of low prices in the past.

Orange production in developed countries is projected to grow at an annual rate of 0.6 percent with most of that growth coming from the United States. Production in Europe is projected to show little change, with a small increase in Spain offset by declines in Italy and Greece. Production in South Africa is expected to continue to grow as it continues to exploit its advantage as an off-season supplier to the northern hemisphere. Production in Israel will continue to be affected by population growth that will compete with citrus and agricultural crops for land and water. Japan’s orange industry is also projected to continue its secular decline as availability of imports increases.

Production in developing countries is projected to increase at an annual rate of 1.23 percent. Over the next ten years, it is likely the Brazil will experience a sizeable contraction of production as the combined effects of disease and low grower prices are felt.  Mexico is vulnerable to the citrus tristeza virus that has already been found in the Yucatan peninsula. Mexican producers, mainly small growers, have been unable to take advantage of preferential access to the US market offered under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Smaller western hemisphere orange exporting countries such as Argentina, Cuba, Belize and Costa Rica should find market opportunities as the larger orange producing regions undergo adjustment. Cuba has expanded its orange processing capacity and output despite the trade embargo imposed by the United States. The processing sector of Belize and Costa Rica has also undergone consolidation that should lower costs.

Orange producing countries in Asia are expected to continue to expand production, but nearly all of it will be consumed in domestic markets. China is projected to overtake Mexico as the third largest orange producing country and India will challenge Spain as the fifth largest producer. However, huge domestic markets in both of these countries mean that virtually all production will be consumed internally. The exception is Turkey, which is competitive in the European market, due to its geographic location and its association through a customs union with the EC. The Mediterranean countries of Morocco and Egypt are also expected to benefit from their proximity to Europe.

World consumption of oranges grew at a compound rate of 3.5 percent over the period 1987-89 to 1997-99. Consumption of fresh oranges grew at an annual rate of 2.8 percent, while processed orange consumption grew at 4.4 percent per annum. Increased consumption of processed oranges in Europe was one of the primary forces supporting expanded world consumption. Even though per capita consumption of fresh oranges in the EC declined from 12.6 to 9.5 kg, per capita processed orange consumption more than doubled to 28 kg (fresh fruit equivalent). Per capita consumption of processed oranges also grew in Canada and United States, which offset decreased fresh orange consumption in Canada. Among developed countries, the United States is one of the few that realized modest increased consumption of fresh oranges.

Processed orange consumption is concentrated in the developed countries of North America and Europe, which collectively account for over 90 percent of world consumption. Markets for processed orange products appear to be developing in other regions, particularly Latin America. Processed orange consumption in Mexico increased by nearly 70 percent and Brazilian consumption increased by 54 percent over the 1987 - 1889 to 1997 - 1999 period.

While fresh orange consumption declined in many of the developed countries, it expanded in many developing countries, including Mexico, India, Argentina and Brazil. Strong consumption growth was also observed in China. Fresh orange consumption is declining in the developed countries for two reasons: First, it is being replaced by orange juice consumption. Second, with advances in transportation and storage, fresh citrus now faces more competition from other fruits such as bananas, grapes and strawberries.

The relatively small overall projected increase in production will support small increases in the consumption of fresh and processed oranges. Per capita consumption in both North America and Europe is expected to change little from current levels. Relatively flat per capita consumption growth rates in these regions are a direct result of slower domestic production growth and of the small increase projected for the main suppliers of processed orange products, Brazil and United States. Most increases in consumption will be found in developing citrus-producing countries such as India, Pakistan, China, Mexico and Brazil.

Consumers in Brazil and Mexico have traditionally bought fresh oranges then produced juice at home. Rising incomes in these countries, however, have encouraged a trend towards the purchase of orange juice already prepared for consumption.

The recent trade agreement between China and the United States has opened the Chinese market to imports of fresh and processed citrus. However, infrastructure problems work against large-scale importation of fresh and processed orange products. It is likely, however, that consumers, especially the emerging middle classes in the large cities of China, will have increased access to imported citrus products.

Declining domestic production and high trade barriers that increase the cost of these products to consumers hampers expanded consumption of fresh and processed orange products in other East Asian economies. Many Asian countries maintain high tariffs on imports of citrus. The Japanese processed orange market has failed to live up to expectations generated by the signing of the US-Japan Beef and Citrus Agreement in 1986. The long distances that oranges and other citrus products must travel from the major producing countries in the Western Hemisphere also constrain citrus consumption in East Asia. These observations notwithstanding, per capita orange consumption in nearly all of the countries of the Far East is projected to show small to moderate increases. Nearly all of this consumption growth will come from increased domestic production.

Fresh market prices are almost impossible to predict since so much depends on variations in annual crops in key producing countries. There is likely to be some shift to processed juice consumption in some developing countries, but in most producing areas, oranges will continue to be consumed in fresh form. In view of demographic growth in some producing countries, prices could remain stable in real terms or experience slight increases. In developed markets there continues to be a perceptible shift to easy peelers, which should put downward price pressure on oranges sold for fresh consumption. 

Orange (Citrus x sinensis) is a fruit tree of the species Citrus in the family Rutaceae, the fruit of which is an orange. It is sometimes also called sweet orange to distinguish it from the bitter orange species (Citrus aurantium L.), mainly used in the food industry for confectionery or to make liqueurs such as Curaçao. The orange is a cross between the pomelo and the mandarin, but has been growing as an independent species for centuries.
The orange tree (Citrus aurantium subsp. Dulce) reaches a height of up to 12 metres and has fleshy, long, dark green and glossy leaves that also decorate the branches with very beautiful snow-white, fragrant five-petalled flowers. The sprouts are always green, never reddish, and the skin is slightly rough. In some varieties the branches can be thorny.
The orange flowers are white and fragrant: they can grow singly or in groups of 6 per flower. It flowers in spring and the fruit ripens the following autumn or winter. Sometimes the fruit from the previous year may still be on the plant when it flowers the following year.
The fruit of the orange tree does not ripen after harvesting: it must be left on the plant until it reaches the desired degree of ripeness.
Where the climate is tropical, the fruits remain green, and to make them orange, they are treated with ethylene, a gas that is also the hormone responsible for their ripening.
The orange tree is quite drought tolerant, but requires a lot of water for maximum production.
It can be made on bitter orange, volkamer lemon and trifoliate orange (especially for plants in vases and in areas with low winter temperatures.
The fruit is round and made of exocarp (flavedo), which is orange when the fruit is fully ripe. Then there is the white, spongy mesocarp (albedo), which is slightly bitter. The edible part is the endocarp, fleshy and juicy, divided into 8-12 slices with a few seeds. Annual production from each orange plant can reach 500 fruits, depending on the orange variety grown. The ripening period usually lasts from November (for early varieties) to May-June (for the newest varieties).
The orange tree only needs to rest for three months, so sometimes the tree can still bloom with fruit from the previous year.
Today, the orange is the most common citrus fruit worldwide and hundreds of varieties are grown. Some fruits have golden flesh (ovals, biondo comune, navel, Washington navel, etc.), others have red flesh due to the anthocyanin pigments they contain (moro, tarocco, sanguinello), some are larger and more beautiful, others are less beautiful and have thinner skin, but are more juicy and therefore suitable for the production of orange juice. In Italy alone, more than twenty varieties are grown for consumption or for the production of orange juice. However, sweet oranges are not only consumed as fresh fruit, but also for the production of juice, especially from blond oranges (during their processing, the peel is used to extract the essential oil separated from the rest of the fruit) and, to a lesser extent, for the production of candied oranges and dried oranges.

The orange tree has its roots in China and Southeast Asia: it was only brought to Europe in the 14th century. Although this fruit has its origins in China, the word orange comes from the Arabic word narandj, which in turn comes from the Sanskrit nagarunga, meaning 'fruit loved by the elephants'. According to Greek mythology, the dowry of Juno, married to Zeus, consisted of several small trees whose fruits were very beautiful and golden, oranges and lemons, symbols of fertility.
In some ancient Roman texts, the orange is mentioned as early as the first century, although it was not known by the name of orange, but was called "melarancia". This fact is confirmed by the finding of an orange plant in the courtyard of the monastery of Santa Sabina on the Aventine hill in Rome, built around 1200.
In addition, in 19th century literature the orange was sometimes called portogallo. In Europe, sweet oranges only became widespread in the 15th century thanks to Portuguese sailors (this is probably where the dialectical term "purtuali" comes from), who greatly developed the cultivation of this fruit, contributing to its spread. It was Christophorus Columbus who imported orange seeds after his second voyage, allowing them to be grown in America as well. Louis XIV, who loved oranges as much as strawberries, built the very popular hothouse of Versailles.
Oranges contain about 87% water, few fats and proteins, lots of minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, selenium and many vitamins, among which, in addition to the well-known vitamin C, are vitamins A, B1 and B2.