RABAT Oct 8 (Reuters) – Morocco’s citrus output is expected to fall by 25 percent this season due to bad weather, the agriculture ministry said on Monday, amid a global decline in production.
At 1.5 million tonnes, the drop in the north African country’s citrus production would “support export prices at the levels seen during the previous campaign, with an expected upward trend in December”, the ministry said.
The export campaign usually starts in October and ends in July.
The ministry said tangerines and oranges production should fall by 24 percent and 27 percent to 675,000 and 763,000 tonnes respectively. Production of grapefruit, lemon and pomelo is expected to rise 38 percent to 62,000 tonnes.
Morocco is Africa’s third-biggest citrus exporter after South Africa and Egypt. It exported 550,000 tonnes of oranges and over 100,000 tonnes of orange juice mostly to Europe last season.
In July, the U.S. Agriculture Department said global citrus production dropped 7 percent from the previous year to 51.1 million tonnes.
Morocco plans to raise citrus exports to 1.3 million tonnes by end-2018, or half its expected output. (Reporting by Souhail Karam)
.
