(Image: santiago silver / stock.adobe.com)

(Image: santiago silver / stock.adobe.com)

Brazil: Orange growers in crisis

Brazil's orange juice industry is facing a severe crisis, with prices reaching an all-time high. Extreme weather and plant diseases are threatening production in the country, which supplies 70% of the world's orange exports. To cope with the shortage, exporters are now considering alternative fruits.

Brazil grows around 17 million tons of oranges annually, accounting for 35% of global production. However, recent extreme drought and heat stress during the flowering period, combined with a bacterial infection known as citrus greening, have severely impacted crops. More than 40% of Brazil's orange trees have been affected.

As a result, orange production is expected to decline by over 25% in the 2024-25 season. This marks Brazil's third consecutive poor harvest, with the country typically producing 300 million boxes of oranges per year.

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