Fresh Citrus: Oranges, Mandarins & Lemons

Oranges, mandarins and lemons by class, size and juice content, in 15 kg cartons by the reefer container

Citrus is bought on maturity, class and size. The EU marketing standard for citrus fruit (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429), which follows the UNECE FFV-14 standard, sets the maturity floor by species: oranges at a minimum 35% juice content (33% for the navel group, 30% for blood oranges) with a sugar/acid ratio of at least 6.5:1; clementines at 40% juice and 7.0:1; satsumas at 33% and 6.5:1; other mandarins and hybrids at 33% and 7.5:1; and lemons at 20% juice. Minimum diameters are 53 mm for oranges, 45 mm for lemons and mandarins and 35 mm for clementines, and the fruit is graded Extra Class, Class I or Class II on defects of shape, colour and skin; citrus that meets the maturity rules may be degreened. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations put heading 0805 at USD 15.44 billion and 13.69 million MT, led by Spain, South Africa, China, Egypt and Turkiye. At six digits, fresh oranges (0805.10) total USD 5.22 billion: Spain at 1.19 million MT and an average USD 1,002/MT, Egypt at 844,000 MT at USD 1,059, South Africa at 1.13 million MT at USD 669, the USA at 340,000 MT at USD 1,534 and Australia at 180,000 MT. Mandarins (0805.21) total USD 3.67 billion, led by China at 931,000 MT, South Africa at 637,000 MT and Turkiye at 604,000 MT; lemons and limes (0805.50) total USD 4.03 billion, with Spain at 673,000 MT at USD 1,250, Turkiye at 576,000 MT, South Africa at 533,000 MT and Argentina at 166,000 MT, alongside Mexico at 729,000 MT on a heading that includes limes.

The calendar decides the origin. South Africa's export season runs from April to October, opening on lemons and grapefruit and moving through navels, mandarins and Valencias, with volumes reported in 15 kg cartons; Argentina's Tucumán lemon harvest runs from April to about August. In the northern hemisphere, Spanish navels are picked from October to February and other oranges into June, Egyptian navels run from late November to mid-January with Valencias following through spring and summer, Turkiye exports from October to May with a December peak, and Chinese easy-peelers are available most of the year with the peak in December and January. The documents follow the destination. Every lot needs a phytosanitary certificate from the origin's plant protection organisation, and European retail buyers expect GlobalG.A.P. certification; pesticide residues must meet the destination's maximum residue levels, which in the EU fall to a default 0.01 mg/kg under Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 where no specific limit is set. The EU applies citrus black spot measures to fruit from Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Uruguay and Zimbabwe (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/632, extended to 31 March 2028), requiring registered places of production, and requires oranges from the African continent to be cold-treated against false codling moth at -1 to 0°C for 16 days or -1 to 2°C for 20 days. China's protocol for South African citrus, which targets Mediterranean and Natal fruit fly, requires registered orchards and packhouses and cold treatment of oranges and mandarins at -0.2°C or below for 16 days or 1°C or below for 19 days, and of lemons at 3°C or below for 18 days. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers fresh citrus from packers and exporters in these origins against the phytosanitary certificate and an independent inspection at loading where the buyer wants it. Cargo moves in 40-ft reefer containers, oranges typically carried at 2-7°C depending on cultivar and origin, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms; Hapag-Lloyd's Citrus Connect service quoted 21 days from Port Elizabeth and 25 days from Durban to Rotterdam in 2024. Send the variety, class, size or count, carton weight, volume per week and discharge port.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.