
Agribusiness
April 23, 2024
Brazil faces citrus greening to maintain leadership in orange juice exports
Almost all the orange juice consumed today in the world is produced in Brazil. The country is the largest producer of the fruit and is a leader in juice exportation, with emphasis on São Paulo. An expert in citriculture, agronomist and consultant Gilberto Tozatti explains, in this month’s interview for Revista Estratégias e Soluções, published by Editora Pecege, that the industry processing the fruit and its by-products (substances extracted from oranges) has been growing even more in the country.
“When you enter the supermarket, for example, most of the food has something related to citrus farming.” But the sector faces an important challenge: winning the battle against greening, a systemic disease caused by an insect that has already devastated orchards in the United States and Mexico. To learn more about the subject, it is worth watching the chat between Tozatti – a member of the Citrus Consultants Group (Gconci) – and presenter Soraia Fessel (click on the video).
In Brazil, 70% of the oranges produced go to the juice industry, and 30% go to the fresh fruit market. The vast majority of production comes from the so-called Citrus Belt, which encompasses the State of São Paulo (80%) and part of the Triângulo Mineiro. Other hubs are located in Bahia, Sergipe, Paraná, and Goiás.
A systemic disease called greening, a major threat to global citrus cultivation, has challenged producers and experts, as it gradually reduces the plant’s productive capacity. The disease is caused by a bacterium transmitted by an insect called psyllid.
“It would be necessary to control the vector, but it is difficult, just as it happens with the [vector] mosquito of dengue,” explains consultant Gilberto Tozatti. “Millions of dollars have been invested in the United States and Brazil in research to try to control this disease,” he says.
Because of this, several orange planting projects began to emerge in other states, in more isolated regions and with fewer cases of the disease. “Brazil has more favorable climatic and geographical conditions,” he states. With this, it is possible to space out orchards more and mitigate transmission.
According to Tozatti, production in Florida (USA), which was once a leader in the sector, and in Mexico were practically annihilated by greening. Therefore, he believes that Brazil “has a fantastic opportunity for agribusiness [filling this gap]”.
This industry represents many foreign exchange earnings and employment opportunities for the country. But, to maintain the current production level (1 million tons of juice exported) and supply world demand, Tozatti warns that Brazil needs to invest more in combating greening and in planting new orchards.
About the interviewee
Gilberto Tozatti is an agronomist, citrus cultivation specialist, and consultant, a member of the Citrus Consultants Group (Gconci). He is a visiting professor for the MBA USP/Esalq courses in Agribusiness and School Management, operated by Pecege, and for the specialization in Soils and Plant Nutrition at Sollo Agro, USP/Esalq.
Who published this videocast
Renata de Gaspari Valdejão Almeida







