Chile’s citrus production and exports will increase in the next year, led by mandarins, according to a new USDA report.
For the 2024-25 marketing year, an increase in the planted area will raise Chilean lemon and orange exports by 3% and supercharge mandarin exports by 14%, according to the report.
Mandarins surging
Mandarin production is forecast to increase by 13.1% and total 250,000 metric tons in 2024-25, fueled by higher acreage, the report said. Mandarin exports for the 2024-25 marketing season are expected to reach 218,000 metric tons, up 14.1% from the previous season.
The increase in mandarin output is based on an increase in mandarin planted area, which is expected to be up 4.8% from 2023-24.
“Due to high profits, area planted in the Metropolitana, O’Higgins and the Valparaiso regions, in the central part of the country, grew significantly in the past three marketing years,” the report said. “Mandarins became a profitable alternative for producers in these regions.”
The report said producers have shifted from avocado crops, which are very sensitive to low temperatures and humidity, to mandarins, planting them in hillsides using drip irrigation.
Drought persists in the Coquimbo region, in the northern part of the country, and water availability for irrigation is currently insufficient, the report said.
The Coquimbo region is the top mandarin-producing region in Chile, holding 42.2% of the area planted with mandarins. Because of that, drought in that region has had a large impact on Chile’s mandarin production, and dry conditions decreased output there by 18% last season, the report said. Area planted for mandarins in the Coquimbo region dropped 1.3% over the last three-year period.
In the 2023-24 marketing year, the U.S. accounted for 97% of Chilean mandarin exports, with lighter volumes to Canada, Spain and Mexico. Chile exports mandarins from May until December, peaking around September.
Lemons
Assuming regular yields, the USDA report said Chilean lemon output will increase by 2.6% to 197,000 metric tons in the marketing year 2024-25, with lemon exports forecast to grow by 3.3% to 93,000 metric tons. Area planted to lemons will grow 4.8% in 2024-25, as the report noted that Chilean growers have found lemon production and exports to be a profitable alternative to other crops, such as avocados, due to higher prices and lower water requirements.
The USDA said the area planted with lemons in Chile has grown consistently over the past 10 marketing years, spanning from the Coquimbo region to the O’Higgins region toward Chile’s central south. Lemon harvest begins in April, the report said, with active export shipments from June through September.
The top market for Chilean lemons is the U.S., which accounted for 65% of total exports in 2023-24.
Orange outlook
The USDA said Chilean orange output will move 2.2% higher because of higher orange planted area. Orange exports are pegged to grow by 3% and total 103,000 metric tons.
The report said the area planted with oranges has grown 13% compared with 2021-22.
“The Metropolitana and the O’Higgins regions, in the central part of the country, are the top orange producing regions, holding over 70% of the orange area planted in Chile,” the USDA said. Area planted in the Metropolitana and the O’Higgins regions increased in the past three marketing years by 14% and 20.3%, and the USDA said orange production complements the lemon and mandarin production, by expanding the harvest season which helps maintain harvest operations and export flow.
Chile’s orange marketing year starts in April with the beginning of the harvest season, with the bulk of Chilean orange exports between July and September, and peak supply in August.
In 2023-24, the U.S. accounted for 95% of Chile’s orange exports.
