The decline in the US supply caused by the effects of Hurricane Irma on Florida plantations is an opportunity for Central American producers.
The international price of concentrated orange juice increased by 24% between early July this year and October 3, going from $1.25 per pound of solids to $1.55.Producers of the fruit in Costa Rica even believe that the price could rise more in the coming weeks.
The projected 16% drop in orange production in the state of Florida in the 2015-16 season will drive up the international price of fruit concentrate.
The Department of Agriculture reported that orange production in Florida will be reduced by up to 90 million cases in the 2015-2016 season, 16% less than in the previous season, when 96.8 million cases were produced.
Price rises are estimated due to the 25% reduction in exports from Brazil and the decline of 28% in the orange crops in the United States.
From a statement issued by the Foreign Trade Promotion Office of Costa Rica (Procomer):
In the first half of 2014, exports of Brazilian orange juice showed a significant drop. Up until May, exports totaled 375,000 tons, down 25% compared to the same period in 2013.
A new technology has been developed which reduces the moisture emitted by fruits and vegetables when processing dry products.
From a press release issued by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office:
Taura Natural Ingredients, a company which is a world leader in concentrated fruit products, has developed a series of products such as fruit pieces, flakes and pastes using Ultra Rapid Concentration (URC ®).
The decline in the U.S. supply caused by the effects of a pest in plantations in Florida, creates opportunities for Central American producers.
An attack of the yellow dragon disease in plantations in the state of Florida, the second largest supplier of orange juice, caused a decrease in supply resulting in a price increase. While last December the product was trading on the U.S stock market for $1.35 per pound of solids up until last Monday was the price stood at $1.47.
On May 30 a workshop will be held in Guatemala on the importance of production of certified citrus plants in protected nurseries.
From a press release by the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (AGEXPORT):
This and other topics will be given in the seminar-workshop entitled "The importance of production of certified citrus plants in protected nurseries", which is being organized by the Citrus committee at AGEXPORT.
The new rules include packaged foods with high levels of nutrients considered critical such as salt, sugar, saturated fat and calories.
From an article by the Costa Rican Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
The undersecretary of Public Health in Chile, Jorge Diaz, has unveiled the new rules in the law on food labeling. The document sets out how warnings should be placed on packaged foods with high levels of nutrients considered critical, such as salt, sugar, saturated fat and calories, the rules of which will be subject to public consultation on the website of the Ministry of Health.
Persian lime production in Guatemala will increase by 20%, in order to meet the high demand for this product, mainly from the United States.
"High demand has led to improved planting techniques in order to increase production," said Judith Quevedo, president of the Association of Small Producers of the East.
Farmers will be starting the harvest season in July and will finish it in October, during which it is calculated that two containers of 21 U.S. tons each will be sent every week.
Given the great threat to citrus fruits posed by the Huanglongbing plague, a project is being planned to strengthen control of the pest and for the implementation of integrated pest management for citrus fruits.
From a statement from the International Regional Organization for Animal Health (OIRSA):
The Government of China (Taiwan) and the OIRSA have signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen technical and financial control of the Citrus Huanglongbing pest and integrated pest management in the region.
With an investment of $6 million a program will be developed in Central America to control pests affecting citrus fruits.
The technical cooperation agreement signed between the International International Organization for Regional Specialized Health in Agrifood (OIRSA in Spanish) and the Republic of China (Taiwan), focuses on fighting the most destructive pests affecting citrus fruits: Huanglongbing (HLB).
The United States has zero tolerance for the presence of chemicals like carbendazim, detected in two shipments of orange juice exported from Costa Rica.
The fungicide is used to fight orange fungus. News of the rejection of these two shipments was published on the U.S. government’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website on April 5 and on a bulletin at the Nasdaq stock market.
A project being developed in Zacapa, eastern Guatemala, seeks to diversify the species of citric fruits grown.
Guatemala's Rural Development Program (PNDR in Spanish) is to invest more than $40,000 in setting up a 73 hectare citric fruit plantation that will benefit 582 families in 20 local communities, announced Byron Paz, PNDR regional coordinator.
The price per pound has climbed to $1.36, after a series of frosts affected orange plantations in Florida, U.S.
Carlos Odio, head of Tico Fruit, one of Costa Rica's largest exporters of the product, added that the price has been rising since November, recording a high of $1.5 per pound on December.
Odio told Nacion.com: "Between 4% and 6% of Florida's plantations were affected.
The Huanglonbing virus (HLB) attacks persian and key Lime trees, orange, grapefruit and tangerine.
Countries from the region are designing a strategy to prevent the outbreak of the virus, also known as Greenning's Disease.
Gisela Tapia is an expert from Oirsa, the Regional Agriculture Health Organism. She warned that "if there isn't a prevention program, in 5 years Guatemala and the rest of Mesoamerica could lose their entire citrus production", reported Prensalibre.com.
The alert was decreed in order to prevent the Huanglongbing (HLB) disease, which affects citruses and has already been detected in Belize.
By means of the decree, the importing of citruses is prohibited from Belize and other countries that have reported the disease, such as Brazil, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.
Leonel Díaz writes for the Prensa Libre web portal: "In the country, the production, transporting, and marketing of plants and citruses originating from open air nurseries has also been prohibited."