Mexico's orange and grapefruit volumes hit by drought
Mexico's orange, lemon and grapefruit production is predicted to show a 17.4% year-on-year decrease to 6.2 million metric tons (MT) for 2011-12 due to droughts, website Informador.com.mx reported.
Mexican orange farmers are among the worst affected and are expected to see a 22% decrease in volumes at 3.2 million MT in the current cycle.
Grapefruit producers are also going to be badly hit with an anticipated 24% drop in production to 300,000MT this season, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates.
However, the USDA predicts Mexico's lemon and lime production will hold up at 1.7 million MT against a 4% global annual decline at 6.4 million MT.