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The large volume of rains in many regions in São Paulo State in October favored the settlement of the orange flowers for the 2017/18 season. Although small fruits dropped, in most regions, drops were not intense. In this scenario, the development of plants was positive in almost all citrus regions surveyed by Cepea.
It is still early to measure the 2017/18 crop, but it may be larger than the previous season. At this time last year, crops already registered damages due to the heat, which limited supply in the 2016/17 season.
Regarding prices, orange values increased in the market of São Paulo State in the second fortnight of October, both in the in natura segment and industry, pushed up by low supply and high demand for crushing. The demand for pear oranges was firm in that period, despite the high prices of the variety. In the month, pear orange quotes increased 8.27%, at 33.24 BRL (10.43 USD) per 40.8-kilo box, on tree, on October 31.
The low supply of oranges in that period increased the interest of most large processors in closing trades for the 2017/18 crop, although prices had not been defined yet – uncertainties regarding the next season production hampered the pricing process. Besides, citrus growers indicate that it was still early to close anticipated trades for the next crop.
Collaborators forecast that, with large purchases by the industry, orange crushing may slow down earlier. As in January and February citrus growers may offer early oranges, although in small volumes, at least one plant of each large processor may keep operating early in 2017. This scenario has confirmed the initial expectation that the Brazilian 2016/17 crop will be shorter compared to last season.
Source: Hortifruti/Cepea
