2023-05-13 16:45:48
The interprofessional fruit juice organization is concerned about a global shortage of orange juice concentrates, caused by the vagaries of the weather.
After facing shortages of mustard, oil and eggs in 2022, consumers could soon see orange juice shelves empty. The National Interprofessional Union of Fruit Juices (Unijus) is warning of a global shortage of orange juice concentrates. “This raw material used to make orange juice from concentrates and orange nectars (…) has become very difficult to find for all buyers in the juice sector“, notes the professional federation in a statement published Thursday and spotted by BFM Business.
The vagaries of the weather in the orange-producing regions are the cause, according to Unijus. “Florida production was at an all-time low following Hurricane Ian in September 2022“, she says. Likewise, “Mexican production, mainly intended for the ordinary American market, has also fallen by 30% this year due to the drought. This is also what has been observed in Spain due to lack of water“. Added to this is Florida’s choice of “withdraw from citrus cultivation in favor of real estate construction“, explains Emmanuel Vasseneix, president of Unijus, quoted in the press release.
Result, “the pressure has therefore increased a notch on Brazil, already 1st global supplier of orange juice for many years“, reports the organization of the French fruit juice sector. Except that Brazilian producers are unable to honor all orders. “Global demand for orange juice keeps pressure on these stocks at rock bottom“, adds Unijus. Faced with this situation, delivery quotas have been put in place.
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“High prices” to be expected
Because of this bottleneck, “orange juice packers will encounter difficulties in honoring their orders for concentrate-based products (conventional and organic) with their distributor customers“warns Unijus. Therefore, the federation fears “risks of ruptureson the shelves of French supermarkets. “This shortage currently mainly affects orange juice concentrates but could also affect pure juices in the coming weeks by domino effect.“, anticipates the sector.
According to the law of supply and demand,this situation will be accompanied by high prices» on the products that will be available on the shelves. Indeed, “thehe flows that were headed for Europe are now being diverted to the United States, which is creating pressure on prices“, deciphers Emmanuel Vasseneix. According to his organization, the current prices of concentrated orange juice offered by suppliers are “50% higher than those offered last summer».
Consumers are expected to endure these shortages and high prices for several months. “This situation should last until September-October 2023, i.e. until the next orange juice harvest which will start in mid-June 2023.“, says Unijus. It may therefore be necessary to get used to going without orange juice this summer.
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