Citrus exports from the southern hemisphere have risen by more than a quarter over the last decade, with the European market and the easy peeler category driving much of the growth, according to data from the World Citrus Organization (WCO).

Shipments from the region - which includes South Africa, Peru, Chile, and Argentina - grew by 27% from 2.6m metric tons (MT) in 2010 to 3.3m MT in 2019, with the majority of the growth coming after 2014, Peruvian website Agraria reports.

The region with the highest share of southern hemisphere citrus imports is the European Union with 34%. Next is Asia with 24%, North America with 18%, the Middle East with 13% and Eastern Europe with 7%.

Easy peeler volumes soar

The easy peeler category has been responsible for most of the growth.

In 2008 there was a volume of 342,000MT of mandarins and tangelos traded worldwide from the southern hemisphere. In 2014 this figure increased slightly to 465,000MT.

However, to 2019 there was an increase to more than 739,000MT, representing 16% of southern hemisphere citrus exports. On average in this category there has been a 10% growth per year for the last five years.

North America imports the largest volumes of easy peelers from the southern hemisphere, with a total of 39% in 2019. Of this total, Chile is the leading exporter to this market with almost 150,000MT. In second place comes Peru with approximately 70,000MT, followed by South Africa, Uruguay and Argentina.

In second place as an importer is the European Union with 27%, which is over 200,000MT. In this case, South Africa is in the leading exporter, with a total of almost 150,000MT of the total exported. Peru is followed with a total of approximately 50,000MT.

In third position as an importer is Asia with 18%, representing almost 150,000MT, with Australia as the leading exporting country with almost 70,000MT. South Africa follows with 50,000MT, and in last place with 10,000MT each are Peru and Argentina.