2022/23 orange harvest ends below initial projection

The 2022/23 orange harvest in the São Paulo and Triângulo/Southwest Mineiro citrus belt ended at 314,21 million boxes of 40,8 kg, 0,86% below the initial projection released in May 2022 by Fundecitrus. According to the entity, the lack of rain at the beginning of the harvest harmed the growth of fruits of early varieties, while heavy rainfall contributed to premature fruit drop.

Despite this, the coordinator of the Fundecitrus Harvest Estimation Survey (PES), Vinícius Trombin, stated that the accumulated total was close to the historical average and total production was not far from what was expected. In relation to the weight of the fruits, the average value increased by one gram in relation to the projection in May, reaching 159 grams per fruit, slightly above the historical average of the last five harvests, which is 156 grams.

The rains also contributed to the significant increase in premature fruit drop, raising the average fruit drop rate in the citrus belt to 21,30%, an increase of 1,3 percentage points in relation to the projection made in May 2022. In the last three years, the rate of decline in the citrus belt has remained above 21%, which represents an increase compared to previous years, when this rate was around 17%.

Estimated losses from the fall were 85 million boxes throughout the harvest. Pests and diseases were responsible for almost 65 million boxes and, greening alone, destroyed almost 22 million boxes. The main causes were the adverse weather conditions that occurred during the last three harvests and pests and diseases, such as ferret insects together with fruit flies (6,27%) and greening (5,48%), which were the mainly responsible for the fall in this harvest.