São Paulo – Brazil exported less orange juice in 2010 as against 2009, but sales on the foreign market generated more last year. Revenues reached US$ 2.042 billion. According to figures disclosed by the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex), the growth over 2009 was 11.48%.
In terms of volume, Brazil exported 1.3 million tonnes of concentrated juice in 2009, and 1.2 million tonnes in 2010. The lower crops in the states of Florida, in the United States, and São Paulo, Brazil, were responsible for the elevation of the price of the product. "The market reacts immediately and pays more for exports," said Christian Lohbauer, the president at the Brazilian Association of Citrus Exporters (CitrusBR).
Lohbauer explains that for 2011, the forecast is for the North American crop to be 10% greater than the 2010 crop. Forecasts for the Brazilian crop will only be known between March and April. "We believe that exports will be similar to those of 2010," he believes.
According to the executive, consumption of orange juice is stable worldwide, without perspectives for growth. The main destinations for exports of Brazilian juice are Europe (70%) and the United States (15% to 20%). Japan and China are responsible for 5% of Brazilian exports, whereas the Middle East buys less than 1%, said Lohbauer.
Of the total exported by Brazil, US$ 1.436 billion answers to sales of concentrated juice, US$ 338 million is non-concentrated juice and the rest is pulp chaff, essential oils and terpene (resin used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries).
The average price per tonne in 2010 was US$ 1,390 for concentrated juice and US$ 356 for pasteurized juice, growth of 22% and 6%, respectively, in comparison with the previous year.
*Translated by Mark Ament
