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California’s Citrus Sweet Spot

The season, from past to present
MS_CA Citrus2

Mexico, too, is a rival. “In the last three or four years, Mexico has been exporting more oranges to California,” observes Mercado. “Their season is late November to early April and impacts Arizona as well as California.”

“The East Coast may bring in some mandarin oranges from Spain and Mor-occo,” points out Mulholland, “but in the mandarin category, fruit from the South-ern Hemisphere is largely out of the marketplace by the time the domestic season is in full swing.”

Adds Wickham, “All domestic production supports each other. Texas and Florida don’t compete with California head-to-head—there are different commodities. Our industry works together to manage supply.”

Export Competition
Citrus cultivation requires relatively low labor and thrives much of the year in 140 countries. Brazil, China, the United States, Mexico, and India are the top producers; top exporters include Turkey, South Africa, the United States, European Union, and Egypt.

“California faces the most export competition from Egypt,” explains Wickham. “That can be a challenge in Asia, particularly the Indian market.” China is a rival too, with lower shipping costs, but has had quality issues. Both Canada and East Coast receivers buy from Spain and Morocco, but she says, “It’s not a huge factor; we import fruit from other regions in an effort to support California citrus—if we can’t supply year-round, we lose our shelf space.”

Mercado explains that California competes for Valencia exports with Mexico, while for navel oranges it’s Chile, Brazil, Australia, and South Africa. Mulholland adds, “When it comes to mandarins, it’s hard to get into the European Union. Spain offers a great product and has the geographical advantage. There really isn’t anyone else that’s competition for mandarin exports.”

The HLB Challenge
California growers are working diligently to prevent citrus greening or Huanglongbing (HLB) disease from reaching commercial groves; since 2012 there have been 73 cases in Southern California, primarily in commercial groves.

“There have been several outbreaks of HLB in backyard fruit, primarily in the Los Angeles basin,” explains Alyssa Houtby, director of government affairs at California Citrus Mutual, and these backyard trees present the greatest threat. Ironically, HLB was also found near UC Riverside, site of the Citrus Variety Collection research facility.

Growers and the state are using big money to avert the spread of HLB: the California Citrus Pest and Disease Pre-vention Committee has implemented a program to raise $15 million per year by assessing a fee on every 40-pound carton produced.

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