One of Uruguay's major citrus companies has announced water shortages will significantly cut back production this year, but it is too early to predict whether this will affect exports, website Caa.nearural.com reported.

Caputto announced production of clementine and satsuma variety mandarins would likely fall between 15% and 20%, while exports of its Azucitrus variety could fall by up to 25% compared to last year's volumes, the story reported.

Uruguay's citrus companies assign a large portion of their production for export to the European Union, Russia, Indonesia, Canada and Brazil, the story reported. Like the situation facing Argentina, the U.S. market is also blocked for Uruguay's citrus growers.

According to the country's Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP), the country's citrus harvest fell by more than 10% in 2010 to 37,656 metric tons (MT) but exports actually rose by more than 12% to 15,568MT.

Photo: http://caa.nearural.com

Source: www.freshfruitportal.com