{"id":384099,"date":"2025-03-14T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=384099"},"modified":"2025-03-17T10:12:57","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T13:12:57","slug":"egypt-becomes-brazils-top-orange-supplier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/egypt-becomes-brazils-top-orange-supplier\/","title":{"rendered":"Egypt becomes Brazil\u2019s top orange supplier"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Brazil is known as the world\u2019s largest orange producer and leading exporter of concentrated orange juice, holding 75% of the global market. However, to supplement domestic consumption, the country has always imported oranges, primarily from Spain, a major citrus production. In recent years, another supplier has been competing for the top spot as the largest orange exporter to the Brazilian market: Egypt. In 2024, Egypt became the leading supplier, with sales totaling USD 16.1 million, a 113% increase compared to 2023 (see chart below<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Rodriguez,
Rodriguez, from Fundecitrus: Extreme heat also affects crops<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Orange imports have been increasing, especially in the past two years. In 2024, they nearly doubled, rising from 26,900 tonnes in 2023 to 51,200 tonnes the following year\u2014an impressive 90.3% increase. The main reason is a decline in domestic production, which boosts international demand. To put it in perspective, the estimated production for the 2024\/2025 harvest is 228 million boxes, compared to 307 million boxes in the previous season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drop in production has two main causes\u2014the spread of greening, a disease caused by bacteria, particularly affecting plantations in the state of S\u00e3o Paulo, and climatic factors, especially extreme heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow we face two major challenges: extreme heat and greening,\u201d says Guilherme Rodriguez, agronomist and project supervisor at Fundecitrus<\/a>, a research center founded in 1977 to support citrus production in a region of the state of S\u00e3o Paulo and southern Minas Gerais now known as the \u201ccitrus belt.\u201d Rodriguez explains, \u201cGreening has been affecting our plantations since 2004, causing various damages such as branch drying and fruit drop. To combat it, we\u2019ve implemented different strategies over the years. Extreme heat, on the other hand, primarily impacts fruit setting, reducing their quantity. While greening compromises plant health, heat directly affects production.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Fundecitrus itself has been fighting greening for two decades. Also known as huanglongbing (HLB), the disease affects all types of citruses, and there is no cure for infected plants. To strengthen these efforts, the fund launched an awareness campaign in February titled \u201cFor incidence to be zero, control must be ten out of ten,\u201d emphasizing that the main weapon against the disease is collective preventive action. \u201cFourty-four per cent of S\u00e3o Paulo citrus farms are currently suffering from greening, with Limeira being the city with the highest incidence at 78%,\u201d explains Rodriguez. \u201cIf one farmer takes precautions but their neighbor doesn’t, everyone can be affected. Effective control requires regional management.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practice, newly affected trees fail to produce fruit, while mature trees experience significant premature fruit drop and gradually wither over time. Originally from Southeast Asia, the greening bacteria has nearly wiped out citrus farming in Florida, United States. While these bacteria are a well-known enemy that has been actively fought, extreme heat has emerged as a new challenge in recent years. One of the current strategies to mitigate its effects is increasing irrigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, an opportunity for importers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"F\u00e1vero
F\u00e1vero saw an opportunity for Egyptian oranges in Brazil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As with any trade balance, what is a problem for some becomes an opportunity for others. Brazil has been importing oranges from Egypt since 2019, when the phytosanitary protocols were first approved, but a free trade agreement between the Arab country and Mercosur had been in place since 2017, eliminating an import tax that European countries still have to pay. As the Egyptians improved their product, they also gained a foothold in the Brazilian market, a trend that has been more noticeable in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S\u00e3o Paulo-based trading company 52W began bringing Egyptian oranges to Brazil in December 2024. Founded three years ago, the company initially imported Portuguese apples as well as apples and pears from Argentina. They discovered the opportunity in Egyptian oranges in an unusual way. \u201cWe spent some time in Spain to learn about oranges, tangerines, and lemons. While we were there, a general strike broke out among Spanish orange producers against products from other countries that were arriving with the same quality but at lower prices, especially from Egypt. That\u2019s when it clicked,\u201d says Gustavo F\u00e1vero, one of 52W\u2019s partners.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Mostafa
Mostafa Adel is a 52W\u2019s supplier in Egypt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

He and his partners realized the market\u2019s potential when they saw that some suppliers were struggling to enter the Brazilian market. They soon found a trading partner in Cairo, Dream International, and together they launched an operation to bring table oranges of the Navel\u2014sold as Bahia in Brazil\u2014and Valencia varieties. \u201cIt\u2019s not an easy operation\u2014everything is evaluated: color, size, acidity, and sweetness levels. The logistics partner must be top-notch because everything has to happen within 30 days, with transportation at four degrees Celsius,\u201d explains the importer, who is now preparing to do the reverse and export Brazilian products to the Arab country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For F\u00e1vero, the increased presence of Egyptian oranges is more due to the replacement of Spanish oranges\u2014offering the same quality at a better price\u2014than to issues in Brazilian production. \u201cBrazil is an excellent citrus producer, but as with any fruit, it\u2019s normal for imports to complement supply during the off-season to ensure year-round availability for consumers.\u201d This makes Brazil a great consumer market at any time, regardless of production challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orange supply<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite all adversities, the orange supply chain in Brazil remains of utmost importance. The country is still the world\u2019s largest producer and accounts for 75% of global orange juice sales. The entire sector creates around 200,000 direct and indirect jobs, contributing USD 189 million in taxes. S\u00e3o Paulo stands out in this industry, responsible for 90% of the country\u2019s export volume. In the 2023\/2024 harvest alone, the state generated 45,112 jobs\u2014an increase of 10% compared to the previous harvest, according to data from exporters\u2019 group CitrusBR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the S\u00e3o Paulo State Department of Agriculture and Supply, despite the challenges posed by greening disease and unfavorable weather conditions, there are still many reasons to celebrate the sector\u2019s progress. In addition to job creation, S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s orange industry accounted for 8.2% of the state\u2019s total exports, amounting to USD 1.15 billion in trade balance last year. It ranks among the top five agricultural products in S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s trade balance, according to a survey by the department\u2019s Institute of Agricultural Economics (IEA-APTA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rad more:<\/em>
Brazil\u2019s tariffs cuts cover Arab food products<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Report by D\u00e9bora Rubin, in collaboration with ANBA<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a9Mahmoud Elkhwas\/NurPhoto\/AFP<\/div>
Supplied<\/div>
Supplied<\/div>
Supplied<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s orange groves struggle with greening disease, Egypt has expanded its orange exports to Brazil. Competing head-to-head with Spain, the Arab country sold USD 16.1 million worth of oranges to Brazil in 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2309,"featured_media":384013,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[9534,26760,48455,9561,52627,52626,33719,9562,3275],"class_list":{"0":"post-384099","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-special-reports","8":"tag-brazil-en","9":"tag-egito-en-2","10":"tag-egypt-2","11":"tag-exports-en","12":"tag-fundecitrus-2","13":"tag-greening-2","14":"tag-importacoes-en","15":"tag-imports-en","16":"tag-orange"},"wps_subtitle":"As S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s orange groves struggle with greening disease, Egypt has expanded its orange exports to Brazil. Competing head-to-head with Spain, the Arab country sold USD 16.1 million worth of oranges to Brazil in 2024.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2309"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}