Frutas de Cile reports summer citrus from Chile got off to a strong start during the fourth week of April with 519 metric tons of clementines shipped to the U.S. This is up significantly from last year’s start of 44 tons.
Lemon shipments got underway the same week with 59 tons sent to northern Europe. Last year, Chilean lemon exports started a week earlier, with 385 tons shipped to the U.S.
Chilean navel orange exports started the first week of June, and mandarins followed the last week of June.
Growing conditions have been ideal.
In 2024, Chilean growers exported 50,419 tons of clementines to the U.S. (98% of total clementine exports), 126,263 tons of mandarins (95%), 60,359 tons of lemons (63%) and 97,627 tons of navel oranges (93%).
Significant production increases are seen in the initial forecast for the coming season, especially for mandarins.
Mandarin volume is expected to increase by 32%, clementines should be up 25% and lemons are projected to rise 6%, but navel orange production might be down 18%.
Chile’s total citrus production is forecast to come in at 444 tons, an increase of 11% over 2024.
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