The crisis of the orange juice industry: taste changes and price increases threaten the market

Citrus greening: The disease that changes the taste of oranges

Citrus greening, an incurable disease spread by insects, has appeared in the United States and Brazil, two of the world’s largest exporters of orange juice. This disease has a greening and bitter effect on the fruit, which eventually leads to the death of the tree. Fundecitrus estimates that nearly 40% of the main production areas in Brazil are infected. Damage to American and Brazilian orange groves is exacerbated by higher-than-average temperatures and lower rainfall, causing damage even in irrigated areas.

Price explosion in the market

Orange juice futures prices have risen rapidly over the past year and a half, especially in May. The price of frozen orange juice concentrate has now doubled on the New York Mercantile Exchange from a year ago. According to Kees Cools, president of the International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association, such a crisis has not been experienced even during the big freezes and hurricanes.