Oranges are still very popular and the most consumed among the citrus varieties. Not only families with young children but also consumers above the age of 60 buy oranges to ensure sufficient vitamin C intake.
Elsevier Food International, Vol.9, No.1, February 2006

Orange is mostly consumed as a snack, in fruit salads or for fresh orange juice. Health is seen as a key driver in the global fruit market and oranges are the most popular next to bananas and apples.

Oranges accounted for 13 per cent of the world fruit production after bananas and grapes (15 per cent, respectively). Production in 2004 went up by 15 per cent, but saw a slight decrease over the last three years due to diversified demand for other fruit. Spain, the US and Brazil in particular suffered in 2004 from unfavourable climate conditions that affected the orange harvest. The most popular varieties are still Navel and Valencia oranges, but the trend is towards finding new ways of making the common orange more attractive to consumers. Red (Moro) oranges are becoming popular and Sicilian growers of red oranges have protected their crops by PGI (Protected Geographical Indication). Sicily had notable success in key export markets (Japan, US, Europe) as well as in the domestic market where the Sicilian variety can command prices of up to 10 per cent higher than other oranges. Similarly, Valencia’s citrus growers have signed up to a PGI scheme, which ensures strict quality standards.

High consumption can be seen in new emerging markets such as Mexico, Egypt and Morocco, all large-scale producers capable of providing the local market with inexpensive supply. This indicates the difficulty of exporting oranges into mature markets such as Europe, where the need for differentiation becomes necessary. But the real wins can be made in emerging markets such as China, where consumption, although low by comparison, has shown steady growth in recent years.

Kg per capita Fresh oranges

	2001	2002	2003	2004
Americas
USA	4.8	5.3	5.4	4.9
Mexico	36.2	35.6	35.3	34.8
Brazil	28.1	27.4	26.6	26.1
Europe
Spain	22.3	23.8	24.0	25.9
Israel	9.5	9.5	11.3	10.8
Italy	17.0	15.9	16.3	16.4
Turkey	14.7	14.5	15.0	15.3
UK	2.9	3.2	3.3	3.0
Germany	7.0	6.0	6.5	6.8
Africa
Egypt	19.5	18.1	17.2	14.9
RSA	5.3	6.2	3.9	3.8
Morocco	16.5	17.0	15.4	17.7
Asia Pacific
Japan	0.9	1.1	1.0	1.1
China	2.8	2.8	3.1	3.4
Australia	8.5	6.8	8.7	11.2

Source: USDA, Promar estimates