Brazil seeks new markets to expand orange juice exports

Brazil’s government and local citrus industry are looking to open new markets for orange juice as the sector seeks to diversify exports and improve competitiveness amid weaker consumption.

Agriculture and Livestock Minister André de Paula met in Brasília on Tuesday, September 23, with Ibiapaba Netto, executive director of Brazilian citrus juice exporters association CitrusBR and president of the ministry’s citrus industry chamber.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, the meeting focused on challenges facing Brazil’s orange juice industry and prospects for expanding market access.

“We have good opportunities ahead, and it is very important to maintain this dialogue and align strategies with our team,” de Paula said. “I want to reiterate our full engagement, our availability and our willingness to stand alongside you in securing important markets.”

Japan and South Korea seen as strategic markets

Netto said the citrus industry is particularly interested in commercial opportunities that could emerge from Mercosur’s trade negotiations with Japan and South Korea.

Both countries are considered strategic markets for Brazilian producers seeking to broaden their export options.

“We had records in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, and now we are facing a decline in consumption,” Netto said. “Every time that happens, we start looking at where we can become more competitive.”

“Our product has a very interesting characteristic: we do not face sanitary access problems in international markets. We can sell orange products to virtually any country in the world. The main challenge is tariff barriers,” he added.

Brazil is currently the world’s largest orange producer, with output of 13.5 million metric tons, much of it concentrated in São Paulo state, which is also the center of the country’s orange-processing industry. The country also leads global orange juice production and exports, with output of 1.032 million metric tons and exports of 973,000 tons.

Exclusive data obtained by Datamar highlight the product’s reach in international markets. According to the company, Brazil exported 6,366 TEUs of frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ), classified under NCM code 200911. The chart below shows the main destinations for these shipments:

Top Destinations for FCOJ Exports | Jan-Jul 2026 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Crop forecast raised after rainfall

Fundecitrus recently revised its estimate for the 2026/27 orange crop in São Paulo and the Triângulo/Southwest region of Minas Gerais to 263.15 million boxes. The new forecast is 3.1% above the initial estimate, reflecting the impact of rainfall on fruit development.

Even after the upward revision, production is still expected to be around 10% below the 292.9 million boxes harvested in the previous season. Rainfall can increase fruit weight and size but may also reduce Brix levels and industrial juice yields, while making harvesting more difficult.

Source: Vitória News

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