Orange crop decreases almost 30% in São Paulo and MG

The citrícola belt of São Paulo and Minas Gerais harvested 286 million of Orange boxes in the last harvest, a fall of 28 percent compared to the previous year's crop. The data are part of the Defense Fund balance of Citrus (Fundecitrus). One of the reasons for the drop in production was the drought. Without rain, the petals of orange flowers not reproduced as they should, resulting in fall of part of the fruit. The lack of water also harmed earlier Orange varieties, which were smaller. Apart from production, the export was also damaged. The Association of exporters of Citrus juices CritusBR released a balance sheet that points to 13% fall in shipments abroad during the first 9 months of the crop 2018/2019. The fall was expected by the producers, with a harvest of Florida, in the United States, recovering from natural disasters like Hurricane Irma.