The US imports more citrus than it produces to meet demand.

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Winter citrus has long been a big business in the U.S. California, the top-growing citrus state in the nation, producing $2.2 billion worth of citrus in 2023, according to USDA-NASS Quick Stats data, and runner-up Florida with $263 million.

Florida and California have relied on citrus for agricultural revenues and as a significant tourism draw for years. But times have been changing. In 2000, the U.S. imported just under 9 million boxes of fresh citrus fruits, while in 2022, this number jumped over 320% to over 37 million boxes, according to the 2023 published report, U.S. Citrus Production — An Uphill Battle to Survive, by the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Today, the U.S. imports more citrus than it produces to meet demand. A decreased domestic production of citrus is one reason for the import boost. Yet another is that consumers have come to love citrus year-round, thus opening the window to Southern Hemisphere imports from May to November.

“Citrus has become a must-have in the summer like summer fruit has in the winter. Ultimately, consumers want the freshest product,” says Vince Mastromauro, director of produce operations for Sunset Foods, a five-store chain based in Highland Park, IL.

“Demand has been hand in hand with the availability and quality of Southern Hemisphere citrus, adds Jeff Cady, director of produce and floral for TOPS Friendly Markets, a 148-store chain headquartered in Williamsville, NY, with stores in New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont. “We offer mandarins, navels, and even Cara Caras now year-round.”

Quality is a huge part of why LGS Specialty Sales, Ltd., in New Rochelle, NY, imports citrus fruit from the Southern Hemisphere, according to Luke Sears, president. “As a result of that, we are seeing more demand. The trends are variety-driven, looking for ways to cover the domestic-to-import transition with better fruit rather than lack of fruit. In particular, we have seen a shift into different citrus varieties, and more mandarins are being planted and produced. We have also seen Southern Hemisphere fruit more readily available in November because of demand.” 

Mandarins represented over half (55.6%) of some $878 million worth of imported citrus dollars to the U.S. during the 2022/2023 season, based on calculations by the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Statistics, and USDA Economic Research Service. Oranges were second at one-quarter (25.1%). Lemons are next (16.2%), followed by grapefruit (2.7%) and tangerines (0.3%).

While Southern Hemisphere citrus hasn’t reached the volume of California fruit during the winter, it has become a shopping list item, according to Zak Laffite, president of Wonderful Citrus, in Los Angeles, CA. “I think these items will become even more meaningful going forward.”

THE 2024 FORECAST

Some domestic citrus shippers expect to ship through the first half of June, with the season wrapping up earlier than customary. That said, “we expect that retailers in the east will begin to make the transition to imported sources earlier,” says Mark Greenberg, president of Saint-Laurent, Quebec-based Capespan North America, which offers a consistent supply of mandarins, oranges, Star Ruby Grapefruit and lemons to its retail customers from July 1 through the summer.

“This means there’s an excellent opportunity for Southern Hemisphere citrus this season,” says Norman Barao Jr., vice president of sales and marketing, for the International Fruit Company, in Hammonton, NJ, which will introduce new film packaging for its clementines, oranges, and lemons this season.

The citrus import season started in May, adds Rodrigo Lopez, category director of citrus and avocados for The Oppenheimer Group, headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Canada, which brings in counter-season citrus from Chile, Uruguay, Peru, South Africa and Australia.

“We expect a typical volume overall, with a notable increase in supply from South Africa by late June to early July. Varieties such as easy peelers like clementines and W. Murcotts, navels, lemons, grapefruit, and specialty items like Cara Cara will be available, offering a diverse assortment of products. Easy peelers are experiencing significant growth in volume and availability, spanning from May to the end of October. However, some varieties may be affected by weather conditions.”

• MANDARINS: Over the past three to five years, there has been a notable increase in the import volume of easy peelers, with a growth rate of 20 to 30%, says Lopez. “This growth is primarily attributed to late easy peelers like W. Murcotts.”

Citrus like mandarins from Chile, Peru, and South Africa offer value and compete remarkably well alongside domestic summer fruit, adds Capespan North America’s Greenberg. “What has been pleasantly surprising is that the rise of these so-called easy peelers has not cannibalized navel orange sales.”

Nearly half (48.0%) of the mandarin imports to the U.S. from the Southern Hemisphere came from Chile in 2022-2023, based on calculations from the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Statistics, and USDA Economic Research Service. Peru is second (29%), South Africa third (14.3%), Uruguay fourth (6.7%) and Australia fifth (2.0%).

“Chilean Clementines are expected to be 30% to 40% down in volume due to the drought issues in the North of Chile. We do not foresee any supply issues on other varieties at this time,” says Sydney Allison, director of sales for IMG Citrus, in Vero Beach, FL, which specializes in importing mandarin, lemons, navels, Minneolas, Cara-Caras, grapefruit, and limes to the Southeast U.S. via Port Everglades and the Port of Miami, and consolidating its supply chain in its 185,000-square-foot state-of-the-art cold storage and packing facility.

According to the Chilean Citrus Committee, based in Santiago, clementine volumes will decline by 35%, reaching 40,000 tons, and mandarin volumes will decrease by 9%, reaching 160,000 tons.

“Clementines started shipment from Chile in early May, while the Mandarin season will start at the end of July with the first pickings in the early orchards. Chile exports mandarins from August to mid-November, peaking mid-August into the first week of September. The main variety is W. Murcott followed by Tango and Orri,” says Karen Brux, the Redwood City, CA-based managing director of the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA).

Peru endured torrential rain in March, reducing its crop of early mandarins and clementine varieties, says Capespan North America’s Greenberg. “Come July, we expect to see normal volumes of Peruvian, Chilean, and South African mandarins arrive with no expectation of gaps in supply.”

Wonderful Citrus imports its Halos-branded Mandarins from South Africa, Australia and South America. Early varieties of clementines from South Africa typically arrive in the U.S. the first week of June, while Australia’s fruit arrives around the beginning of July.

As well as Chile and Peru, Uruguay is a country Seald Sweet LLC imports easy peelers from, says Peter Anderson, the Swedesboro, NJ-based commodity manager. “We bring the fruit into East Coast ports in Philadelphia, Camden and Wilmington, as well as Savannah, GA. Houston, TX, is an up-and-coming port for summer citrus due to the growth in the population of the Midwest and less than 24-hour truck delivery to cities like Chicago.

Heavy rains that caused significant flooding may have reduced Uruguay’s clementine crop this upcoming season by 50%, according to the Union of Fruit Producers and Exporters of Uruguay, based in Montevideo.

• ORANGES: Chile also exported over half (59%) of the Southern Hemisphere-grown oranges imported by the U.S. during 2022-2023. South Africa followed at 35%, with smaller quantities from Australia (4.1%) and Uruguay (1.6%), based on calculations from the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Statistics and USDA Economic Research Service.

According to the Chilean Citrus Committee, Chilean orange exports to the U.S. are expected to decrease this season by 2% to 93,000 tons.

“While harvest starts in April with initial shipments in mid-to-late May, the bulk of Chilean orange exports occurs between July and October and peaks in July to August. The main Navel varieties are Lane Late and Fukumoto,” says the CFFA’s Brux.

Navel oranges from South Africa will arrive in light volumes in early- to mid-June, adds Capespan North America’s Greenberg. “Volumes from South Africa and Chile should ramp up considerably come the first week of July.” 

This season marks the 26^th that South Africa has exported citrus to the U.S., primarily to ports in Philadelphia and Houston, with weekly shipments expected through the end of October. Clementines start, followed by Navel Oranges and Star Ruby Grapefruit. Citrus shipments to the U.S. have more than doubled since 2019, according to Suhanra Conradie, chief executive officer of Summer Citrus from South Africa, the Citrusdal, SA-based group of citrus growers who consolidate their logistics, marketing, and sales efforts to export and sell the fruit.

The development of varietals in mainstream citrus, particularly oranges, is seeing a rise in varieties like Cara Caras, says Oppy’s Lopez. “Retailers can expect to replicate their domestic winter variety offerings on the shelf during the summer through imports, a trend already underway.”

Seven Seas, a part of the Tom Lange Family of Companies headquartered in Marietta, GA, imports Cara Cara Navels from Chile and South Africa and other Southern Hemisphere citrus like mandarins and Star Ruby grapefruit.

“Five years ago, Cara Caras was very limited. So, retailers didn’t include them in their summer planograms. In 2023, they were available for a 6-to-8-week window. This summer, I think forward-thinking retailers will carve out display space,” says Bill Weyland, the Vero Beach, FL-based vice president of sales at Seven Seas.

In July and August, “We also bring in Minneola Tangelos from Peru,” says IMG Citrus’ Allison.

• LEMONS: Over half (52%) of U.S. Southern Hemisphere-sourced lemons came from Argentina in 2022-2023, followed by Chile (35.3%) and Peru (12.7%), according toU.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Statistics and USDA Economic Research Service calculations.

“Lemons from Argentina started arriving in May, peak late in July, with availability through August. Volume is up 10% over 2023,” says Weyland.

There is more small-sized fruit from Argentina, adds International Fruit Company’s Barao. “The main size for retail loose is 115, but we’ll have more 165 and 200 sizes for bagging.”

Chile’s lemon export season runs between May and September, with harvest peaks in July or August, depending on the weather.

“Lemons will be increasing by 33%, with an expected export volume of 90,000 tons,” says the CFFA’s Brux.

Wonderful Citrus primarily imports Southern Hemisphere lemons from Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. The company launched its California-grown seedless lemons in the fall of 2019, sourcing these varieties in South Africa and Australia. “Now, to have a 52-week supply of no-seed lemon, Wonderful is cultivating global growing partners,” says Laffite. “We are looking at growing seedless lemons in Mexico, as well as Chile and South Africa, and we’re looking at Australia.”

• GRAPEFRUIT: More than three-fourths (82.8%) of Southern Hemisphere-imported grapefruit comes from South Africa, with the bulk of the remainder from Peru, based on calculations from the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Statistics and USDA Economic Research Service.

“South African grapefruit is trending later this season with excellent quality,” says LGS Specialty Sales’ Sears. The company imports its Darling-brand red-fleshed grapefruit from June to October.

SALES AT RETAIL

Southern Hemisphere citrus can fill a promotable void for retailers in the summer.

“Oranges and especially mandarins help out for back-to-school promotions when California citrus isn’t available yet,” says Sunset Foods’ Mastromauro.

Occasions at the front and tail of the import season, like Memorial Day and Labor Day, are a great time to promote citrus, adds Wonderful Citrus’ Laffite. “This is especially true as export supply to the U.S. continues to grow, and prices come down to within close parity with prices for fruit during the domestic season.”

With so much high-quality domestic fruit available during the summer, finding the right message to promote citrus is vital, says the CFFA’s Brux.

“We communicate how easy it is to enjoy citrus with ‘Easy to peel. Easy to love.’ messaging for Chilean mandarins. We showcase seasonal ideas, like grilling lemons, something you likely wouldn’t see during winter. For retailers, we fund ads, demos, in-store merchandising programs, digital coupons, and online consumer-facing marketing programs. Retailers and importers need to know what’s being shipped, where it’s being shipped, and when it’s arriving, so we also send weekly export updates to a huge database of customers. This is vital for promotion planning.”