In the 2020/21 season, EU citrus production is forecast to rebound by 10.4% compared to the previous season, reaching 11.7 million tonnes.
Spain is the main supplier of citrus fruits to the EU market. Switzerland, Norway and Serbia, followed by Canada, Brazil and the Middle East remain strategic export markets outside the EU. In the 2019/20 season, additional tariffs affected the citrus trade between the United States and the EU. Other issues related to trade agreements and agricultural bans can also influence the global citrus trade.
For the 2020/21 season, EU orange production is forecast 5.2 percent higher than the previous season to 6.5 tonnes, but 0.4 percent lower than previous estimates. As a result, orange juice production in the EU is forecast to increase by almost 25% compared to the previous period, to 89.228 million tonnes, and 1.4% more than previous estimates. This forecast is in line with the expected volume of EU oranges destined for processing.
EU lemon production in the 2020/21 season is forecast to increase by almost 11.7 percent compared to the previous season, to 1.654 million tonnes and 0.8 percent more than previous estimates.