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Rains to Hamper Brazil's 2010 Orange Output

Source: Reuters
11/01/2010

Jan 8 - The heavy rains of 2009 should hamper Brazil's orange crop this year, but at this early stage analysts are split over whether there will be a 20 percent fall or even a slight rise, according to the growers' association.

Unusually heavy rainfall in Sao Paulo state, where most of the citrus farms in the world's top orange juice exporter are located, have taken a heavy toll on its sugar cane and coffee, and also enabled the yield-cutting Colletotrichum fungus to thrive.

Flavio Viegas, chairman of the citrus growers' association Associtrus, said the evidence of damage from the fungus was already apparent.

"The rain was more than was desirable. In some regions it was so much that it created problems with the fungal disease estrelinha," said Viegas, referring to the fungus by the name it is commonly known by in Brazil.

It causes petals to fall from the flowers but the stem remains, tricking the tree into behaving like the flower is still present, thereby not shedding and replacing it.

The fungus, which is more prevalent this year due to the rainy weather in which it flourishes, is one of a host of fungi, bacteria and pests that afflict citrus groves here and in the world's other major producer, Florida in the United States.

Orange juice futures contracts climbed to a two-year high on Friday due to risks posed by cold weather in Florida which could damage the crop there and cut the supply of orange juice.

Chemical treatments Brazil's farmers had been spraying on the trees were often applied in vain as rains would wash them off again soon after, Viegas said.

But in areas where rains were still abundant, but a little lighter, Viegas said they had often been beneficial. Rains also enabled trees to begin flowering earlier, meaning the fruit was assured of moisture to fill out before the dry season arrives.

"It is still early for us to make an estimate but there are people talking about an increase of 2 to 3 percent and others talking about a drop of 20 percent," in production in 2010, he said, adding there was no perspective for a significant rise.

Brazil's orange juice exporters' association, Citrus Br, said in December it expected the next harvest to turn out between 300 million and 315 million 40.8-kg boxes in Sao Paulo state. This year's harvest will soon finish and has been estimated at 358.4 million boxes by the state's agriculture authorities.