Brazilian orange juice shipments up 54%

Total exports of Brazilian orange juice (FCOJ Equivalent to 66º Brix) increased 54% between July and November 2019 compared to the same period last year. Shipments totaled 535,714 tons until the fifth month of the harvest, compared to 347,159 tons in the last period. In revenues, exports totaled US$921m, 39% above the US$662.7m obtained in the same period last year. For statistical purposes and in order to be able to use the same basis of comparison CitrusBR converts the different exported juices to 66 degrees Brix, which means 66% of solids in a ton of juice.

According to CitrusBR Executive Director Ibiapaba Netto, as Fundecitrus recently announced, the 2019/2020 crop is estimated at around 385m boxes, making it among the largest in the last 10 years. “With a large volume of orange to process it is natural that this time of year there is movement of stocks from Brazil to final destinations, to have the product available for sale and to free space in Brazilian units,” he explains. According to Netto, it is not yet possible to know how much of this increase is related to inventory movement or a possible increase in demand. “We will have to wait for the next few months to see how exports behave to get a better idea of what is going on,” he says.

For its main destination, the European Union, orange juice shipments totaled 365,987 tons in the first five months, up 59% from the 230,783 tons exported in the previous season. Revenues totaled US$637.7m, 45% more than in 2018/2019, when US$439.5m were obtained.

The second main destination of Brazilian orange juice, the United States, imported 92,369 tons in the period, 36% more than between July and November last year, with 67,890 tons. In turnover, shipments to the United States totaled US$149.5m, up 16% from US$128.6m in the same period last season.

Shipments of orange juice to Japan also rose between July and November this year, compared to the same period last year. This season, exports to the country reached 34,797 tons, 86% more than in the five months of the 2018/2019 harvest, with 18,664 tons. Revenue rose 78% to US$63.1m from US$35.4m.

China recorded a 97% increase in imports of Brazilian orange juice in the period, reaching a volume of 22,382 tons (compared to 11,364 tons in the same period of 2018/2019). “Historically, China has performed better in years of lower priced products and as the FCOJ has devalued a lot over the past year because of market fundamentals, especially the increased fruit supply, it makes sense for China to increase purchases,” says Netto. The increase in revenues was 43%, with US$32.6m compared to July/November last season at US$22.9m.

Frozen Concentrate Orange Juice (FCOJ)

Shipments of frozen concentrated juice (FCOJ 66 brix) to all destinations, between July and November, totaled 423,461 tons, 67% more than the exports registered in the same period last season, when 252,890 tons were shipped. Revenues this season totaled US$703.5m, up 46% from US$482m in the same period last year.

For the European Union, 290,269 tons of FCOJ were exported in the first five months of the current crop, 66.7% above the 174,039 tons in the same period of the previous crop. In turnover, exports have already totaled US$488.4m, up 47% from US$332.3m in the previous period.

And for the United States, the volume of FCOJ shipped between July and November 2019 totaled 55,851 tons, 83% more than in 2018/2019, which totaled 30,386 tons. Sales were US$81.4m, 47% higher than the same period last season, at US$55.3m.

NFC (Not From Concentrate)

Exports of NFC, juice in its natural dilution (12 brix) to all destinations, had a 16% increase in the first five months of the 2019/2020 crop, compared to the same period last season. This season, 617,392 tons of NFC were shipped compared to 531,774 tons from last year. In turnover, this represented a 20% increase to US$217.5m from US$180.6m in the corresponding period of the previous year.

In these four months, 416,450 tons of NFC were exported to European Union countries, 30% above the 320,096 tons shipped in the same period of 2018. In turnover, volumes totaled US$149.3m, 39% above the US$107.2m registered last year.

For the United States, NFC shipments from July to November were down 5% to 200,848 tons from 211,560 tons shipped last year. Revenue fell 7% to US$68.1m this season from US$73.2m in the same period last season.

The following chart, made from Datamar’s DataLiner data, shows Brazilian orange juice exports month by month:

Chart Source: DataLiner/Datamar

Sharing is caring!