The reduction in the Brazilian orange crop affected the volume of orange juice exports, but the increase in the commodity’s prices eventually offset it and guaranteed higher revenues from shipments in the first half of the 2023/24 harvest, from July to December.
According to data from the Secretariat of Foreign Trade (Secex) compiled by CitrusBR (Brazilian Association of Citrus Exporters), Brazilian exports of concentrated and frozen orange juice (FCOJ) fell by 7.25% in volume compared to the same period of the previous harvest, totaling 543,800 tonnes. Export revenues increased 20.7% to $1.3 billion in the first half of the year.
The latest estimate from the Citrus Defense Fund (Fundecitrus) for the São Paulo and Triângulo Mineiro region crops is a 0.7% reduction in this season’s crop to 307.22 million boxes. This is the fourth consecutive harvest with low production levels.
For its part, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) attaché in São Paulo estimates that the country’s total orange crop in 2023/24 will be reduced by 1.03% to 408 million boxes.
Shipment revenues increased due to the rise in international juice prices. The most heavily traded contracts on the New York Stock Exchange, which expire in March, are up 67% in a year.
“The Florida crop is the smallest ever and Brazilian production is at the low average, leading us to a very challenging scenario from a product supply point of view,” Ibiapaba Netto, executive director of CitrusBR, said in a statement.
The chart below shows orange juice exports shipped in containers from Brazilian ports to the world. The data is from DataLiner.
Brazilian Orange Juice Exports | Jan 2019 – Nov 2023 | TEU
Source: DataLiner
Europe, the main destination for Brazilian juice exports, received 10.5% less product in the first half of the year, totaling 298,800 tonnes. The United States received 1.2% less Brazilian orange juice in the period, or 172,300 tonnes.
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