Prices of oranges to the industry dropped significantly in late February, due to the low quality of fruits and to international decreases of orange juice quotations. From February 24-27, for instance, the price average was at BRL 74.29 per 40.8-kilo box, downing 6.55 % compared to that in the week before and 16 % in February.

Players surveyed by Cepea say that the orange quality has reduced since the beginning of the year, with lower brix-acid ratio compared to what is desirable for processing activities, and this has been affecting the quality of the orange juice.

This scenario of low quality, in turn, is related to the fact that the 2024/25 had registered several blossoming cycles, resulting in the harvest of distinct stages of fruits (ripe and unripe), which affects the standardisation of oranges sent to processing activities.

Impacts on export

The lower orange supply and the limited quality of the fruits have been limiting orange juice shipments. According to data from Comex Stat, exports of not-from-concentrate (NFC) OJ (NCM 20091200) have presented a lower performance compared to that verified in the season before. In the partial of the 2024/25 crop (from July/24 to January/25), the volume of juice shipped by Brazil totaled 1.09 million tons, 3.4 % smaller than in the same period last season.

Tahiti lime shipments

Brazilian exports of tahiti lime continue moving at a good pace, after reaching a record volume in 2024. In January, Brazil shipped 17.15 thousand tons of tahiti lime, a record for the month and 18.1 % up compared to January/24 – data from Secex. Revenue totaled USD 14.826 million, for an increase of 13.4 % in the same comparison.