Australia: Citrus Annual
The citrus industry is one of Australia’s foremost horticultural industries and the largest exporter of fresh fruit. The harvest of fresh oranges in 2015/16 is forecast at 455,000 metric tons, slightly above the previous year. Good seasonal conditions and improved access to water irrigation in recent years have supported production. Australia is a counter-cyclical exporter of oranges to northern hemisphere markets while the United States exports oranges during Australia’s off-season. Over 2015, Australia’s newly-signed free trade agreements with China, Japan and Korea were ratified with significant benefits expected for citrus exporters which may now be more competitive with U.S. citrus exporters into these markets.
