The 2024/25 orange juicing season in São Paulo, Brazil, is progressing well as of the end of September. The harvesting pace has seen an increase, with a growing participation of late fruits like Valencia and naval.
According to Fundecitrus, 64% of this season's oranges are from the first blossoming, a significant increase compared to the last four crops. This could lead to an earlier reduction in the juicing pace, as the second blossoming, which starts in October, contributes less to the total production. Factors such as greening (HLB – Huanglongbing), above-average temperatures, and dry weather have also contributed to accelerating the harvesting process.
Despite the current focus on oranges, the share of late fruits in juice production is expected to increase in October. Meanwhile, prices for oranges remain stable in the spot market, with major processing companies offering around BRL 70.00 per 40.8-kg box.
However, Brazilian orange juice stocks are anticipated to remain low by the end of the 2024/25 crop, potentially reaching technically zero levels. This is despite an expected improvement in industrial yield and limited exports. CitrusBR data reveals that the stocked quantity of orange juice was 116.7 thousand tons at the end of the 2023/24 crop, marking it as the third lowest since records began in 1988/89.
Source: Cepea Esalq Usp