Mexico consolidates ranking as fifth largest producer of oranges

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA, for its acronym in Spanish) reported that Mexico has established itself as the fifth largest orange producer, with an average annual volume of 4.2 million tons commercialized in the internal and external market.

In a statement, the agency said that the main producing entities of this citrus are Veracruz, which contributes 44.5 percent of the national volume; Tamaulipas, with 14.6 percent, and San Luis Potosi, with 8.8 percent. These states together harvest 67.9 percent of the national total.

It is also produced in the states of Yucatan, Nuevo Leon, Puebla, Sonora, Tabasco, Hidalgo and Oaxaca, among others.

The value of orange production in Mexico is estimated at over six billion pesos, with annual per capita consumption of 37.1 kilograms and contributing 22.5 percent of the volume of fruit produced in Mexico.

The months of greater availability of this crop are from November to April, with a peak of production between the months of February to April.

Statistics from the Agro-Food and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP, for its acronym in Spanish), contained in the Agro-Food Atlas 2016, indicate that during 2015, 4.5 million tons were produced, higher than the average of the last 10 years.

In terms of foreign trade, orange exports in 2015 totaled $17.7 million dollars, with a volume of 49.2 thousand tons, which were marketed in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan, among other nations.

In addition, Mexico explores open potential markets in Germany, Russia, France, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong.

The Sagarpa states that in the last 10 years, the Average Annual Growth Rate of exports was 15.7 percent, from $4.1 million dollars to $17.7 in that year.

Regarding the estimated production in 2016, to September, this is located at 3 million 547 thousand tons, which means a growth of 9.1 percent, in relation to the same period of the previous year.