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The Mediterranean citrus sector will be in deficit for this campaign. Hard hit by climatic anomalies, the sector hopes to escape a second scourge: the yellow dragon epidemic which has already ravaged the orchards of Florida.
With 21 million tonnes announced, Mediterranean production for 2022/2023 will be one of the lowest in recent years -15% compared to last year. In question, too long droughts, and frosts at the wrong time in several countries that rely on the market. At least four of them are seeing their production decline significantly: Spain, Morocco, Italy and Turkey.
Spain and Morocco affected in the heart of the orchards
For the world’s leading exporter, Spain – which accounts for 25% of world trade – it’s a downturn, according to the economic analysis unit Fruitrop.
Morocco also achieved its worst level of production for ten years, ie -33% compared to the record year of last year. There too due to a lack of water, with water tables that are too low and dams that display a filling level that is too low to meet needs.
On paper, Egypt, which should reach a production record, could have compensated for the lack of production in the Mediterranean basin, but the qualities offered are very different and cannot replace the fruits of Spain or Italy.
As a result, import prices on the European market are higher than last year, especially for easy peelers – Clementine: +22% and Lemon: +23% -, and which will probably remain so until spring. .
In return, this increase makes it possible to return to prices closer to production costs, but the remuneration of producers is still insufficient, points out Eric Imbert, researcher at the Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD).
The threat of the yellow dragon
After having faced the drought, European producers may soon have to fight another battle: that against the yellow dragon – also called greening – a disease that has ravaged Florida orange trees for the past fifteen years. Orange production there fell from 10 million tonnes to 1.1 million tonnes, and grapefruit production from 1.6 million tonnes to 0.2 million tonnes.
A major risk of an epidemic in the Mediterranean cannot be ruled out, researchers have just alerted in a study published in the journal Frontiers. They discovered that an insect that had already been present for five years in Spain could be a vector for the most virulent form of the disease. The consequences of a possible epidemic would be immense, because in winter Europe depends 100% on citrus fruits from the Mediterranean.
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