Oct 21, 2010
Brazil Continues to Lead the World in Orange Juice Exports
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Brazil is the largest exporter of orange in the world and the Brazilian juice exporters have largely avoided the logistical bottlenecks that plague exporters of other commodities from Brazil. According to Christian Lohbauer, president of the National Citrus Juice Exporters Association (Citrus-BR), the reason why the orange juice exporters have avoided the problems so common at other Brazilian ports is because they use exclusively private facilities and not facilities operated by local or state governments.
Nearly all the orange production is concentrated in the state of Sao Paulo and all the orange juice is exported through the Port of Santos, which is also located in the state of Sao Paulo. At the Port of Santos, the storage facilities, the transfer equipment, and the vessels are all privately owned allowing for better logistics and efficiency compared to publicly owned ports that are generally administered by local and state officials.
In 2010, Brazil will export 1.4 million tons of orange juice concentrate at a value of US$ 2 billion. Six out of every ten imported glasses of orange juice in the world will originate in Brazil. Brazilian orange growers continue to consolidate their leadership position in world orange juice production. Brazil is already the largest orange juice exporter in the world and their lead is expected to increase in 2011.
The major concern for Brazilian juice exporters is the strong Brazilian currency compared to the dollar. The exporters would much prefer a weaker currency which would make their products more competitive in the world market. Currently, the Brazilian real is trading at 1.67 to the dollar.