Browse Data and Analysis

U.S. agricultural exporters of consumer-oriented products are well-positioned to increase sales to Guatemala. In 2023, U.S. consumer-oriented export values reached a third-consecutive record on 15 percent growth from the previous year (Figure 3).

In marketing year (MY) 2023/24, higher than normal temperatures early in the winter and a slow accumulation of chilling hours caused a delay in the harvest, and subsequently a delay in export shipment, of most deciduous fruit.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency updated its labeling requirements for fresh grapes and the use of sulfur dioxide gas on fresh grapes during storage and transport – a result of the reclassification of sulfur dioxide when used under different scenarios.

Mexico’s 2024 avocado production is forecast at 2.77 million metric tons (MMT), a five percent increase over 2023 on strong export demand. Production in 2023 reached 2.65 MMT, up four percent compared to the previous year.

Following nearly exponential growth in the last decade, Peru's blueberry export volume fell in 2023 as a result of warmer weather conditions, especially in the principal production areas of northern Peru, which severely limited flowering between March and October.

Mexico’s 2024 blueberry production is forecast at 81,000 MT, an eight percent increase over 2023 on sufficient water access and growing export demand. The rate of production growth is projected to be slower in 2024 compared to 2023 due to competition from Peru.

The Brazilian orange crop for Marketing Year (MY) 2023/24 is forecast at 408 million 40.8-kg boxes (MBx) - standard reference, equivalent to 16.5 million metric tons (MMT), a decrease of 1.03 percent compared to the estimate of current crop MY 2022/23 (around 412.3 million boxes or 16.67 MMT), due to the incidence of greening, which has been affecting Brazil’s citrus belt.

In market year (MY) 2023/24, total citrus production in Mexico is expected down slightly by 1.5 percent versus the previous year, driven primarily by a reduction in fresh lime production. While fresh orange production is projected up fractionally, increasingly erratic conditions such as prolonged drought and high temperatures affected the main producing regions in the current year and reduced harvest quality.

For marketing year (MY) 2023/24, Post estimates an increase in fresh lemon production. This upward revision is attributed to producers' expectations of favorable weather conditions. Post’s MY 2022/23 production estimate is revised up 12 percent due to less severe drought conditions than initially expected.

In marketing year (MY) 2023/24, Post projects lemon production to grow by 6.7 percent and reach 175,000 metric tons (MT) due to high profits and an increase in area planted.

FAS Lima forecasts Peruvian mandarin/tangerine production at 545,000 metric tons (MT) for marketing year (MY) 2023/24 (March 2024 to February 2025), a decrease of one percent compared to the previous year.

FAS/San José expects a 15 percent decline in Costa Rica’s marketing year 2023/24 orange crop driving production down to 250,000 metric tons on suboptimal precipitation – associated with an El Niño weather system – during the critical fruit development period in 2023.