• Orange demand has shot up during the coronavirus pandemic.
• This is due to the fact people believe Vitamin C can help fight the virus.
• Overall production will be down this year, however, but the EU expects a 6-9% increase.

A Quick Production Update

• The first official forecast for the 2020/21 crop in Brazil is 12.5% smaller than last season’s, totalling around 1.3m tonnes of FOJC.
• Production should reach 287.76 million boxes, compared to 386.79 million boxes in 2019.
• Brazil’s inventory is larger than last season.
• Brazil’s orange crop will peak in mid-August.
• A multiple-bloom crop is expecting, which means lower fruit maturity and low ratios this season.
• The Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice (FCOJ) futures market has steadily climbed to USD1.28/lb solid over the past month.
• This is likely because retail sales of orange juice have increased around 6.1% between October 2019 to April 2020, due to there being talk that Vitamin C can help fight the coronavirus.
• Demand has been strong since March, owing to the uncertainty surrounding coronavirus.

Looking Ahead…

• Global demand for FOJC should increase by 2% this year.
• Forecasts suggest that production in the EU will rise by 6-9% this year, totalling around 106k tonnes.
• The EU reminds the top global consumer.
• Growing conditions in Mexico have been good, processing has continued, but the high demand from the fresh market has reduced the availability for the processing industry.
• South Africa’s orange juice production reached a record 57k tonnes production last year, but it is too early to confirm how it will perform this year after the coronavirus, due to the fresh market’s strong demand and the cold temperatures in the North of the country.