Commodity Online
BRASILIA : United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday said adverse weather conditions and a reduction in investment in crop management might cut down citrus crop output by 25 percent.

In its latest report, the USDA however said export volumes will remain steady this year despite a fall in production.

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The Brazilian citrus crop for marketing year 2009/10 is expected to come in at 407m 40.8kg boxes (Mbx), down from 413Mbx in 2008/09 and a considerable fall from the 453Mbx recorded in 2007/08.

Projected falls in production are attributed to poor weather during the blossoming and fruit development periods and below average crop management.

Meanwhile, increased production costs and low prices for fruit delivered to processors during the off-season have created more uncertainty among producers over the profitability of remaining in business, according to the USDA.

Exports are expected to remain steady during 2009/10 at 1Mbx, according to the Brazilian Department of Foreign Trade, with the Netherlands again set to be the leading importer of the country's fresh oranges.

Other leading importers are Spain, Portugal, Ireland, the UK, Russia and Belgium in Europe and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait in the Middle East.

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