Chilean citrus will see big rebound in 2023, report says

After frost cut short the 2022 crop, Chilean citrus production and exports should bounce back in a big way in 2023, a new USDA report predicts.

U.S. imports of Chilean citrus are most active from May through November. In the period from November 2021 through October 2022, U.S. imports of Chilean citrus were valued at $328.5 million, down about 20% from the same period the previous year, USDA trade statistics reveal. 

Chilean citrus yields in 2022 decreased due to frost during the winter in the Valparaíso, Metropolitana and O’Higgins regions. Because of the frost, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Santiago office estimated lemon production at 140,000 metric tons in the 2022 marketing season, down 30% from the previous season. 

For 2023, the USDA report said Chilean lemon production should bounce back to 200,000 metric tons, assuming normal yields. Lemon acreage is estimated at 21,000 in Chile in 2023, up 5.7% from 2022 and up more than 40% from 2016.

In 2023, Chilean exports of lemons are expected to reach 100,000 metric tons, up from 60,000 metric tons in 2022. The lemon marketing year starts April, with the bulk of exports taking place between June and September. The U.S. is the top market for Chilean lemons, taking about 65,682 metric tons in 2021, or about 65% of total Chilean lemon exports.

Chilean orange production for 2023 will increase to 200,000 metric tons, up 22% from 164,000 metric tons in 2022, according to the report.

The report estimates Chilean orange planted area at 15,814 acres in 2023, up 0.5% from 2022. Central Chile is the main growing region for oranges, with the Metropolitana region accounting for 39.3% of the orange area planted and the O’Higgins region representing 31% of the orange area.

Chilean orange exports will reach total 105,000 metric tons in 2023, according to the report, up more than 20% from 2022, the report said. Chile’s orange marketing years starts in April, with the bulk of fruit shipped between July and September, the report said. The U.S. is the main export destination for Chilean oranges, the report said.

 Mandarin citrus production in Chile will jump 39.4% in 2023 to 237,000 metric tons, according to the report. The planted area for mandarins was estimated at close to 33,400 acres in 2023, up from 27,600 acres in 2022.

“Due to high profits, mandarin area planted increased significantly in the past ten marketing years,” the report said. “Specifically, the w. murcott variety became a viable alternative to replace other crops such as oranges or tables grapes, which are less profitable than mandarins, or avocados, which are very sensitive to frost.”

 Besides w. murcott, Chilean producers are planting new mandarin varieties, including orogrande, clemenules and tango, the report said. The diversity of varieties will allow producers to expand the harvest season and to diversify export markets, the report said.

The Coquimbo region is the top mandarin production region in Chile, accounting for 47.4% of the total area planted. The O’Higgins and the Valparaiso regions account for most of the rest of mandarin production, the report said.

Chilean mandarin producers export around 84% of commercial production, the report said.

 For 2023, the report said Chilean mandarin exports will increase by 38.9% compared with 2022 to 200,000 metric tons due to an increase in planted area and a return to normal yields. 

Chile’s mandarin marketing year starts April with the beginning of the harvest season, with shipments from April into December. Chilean producers export most mandarins between August and October, peaking in September each year, the report said.

The U.S. is the top export market for Chilean mandarins, receiving 95% of 2021 exports.