The perspectives of consumption increase in orange juice worldwide in the coming years is contributing to the expansion of citrus production and citrus processing in other regions of Brazil, especially in the States of Pernambuco, Bahia, Sergipe, Paraná and Santa Catarina. In the evaluation Abecitrus (Associação Brasileira dos Exportadores de Cítricos) president Ademerval Garcia, as a business orange juice will tend to expand in a consistent way during the coming years.

The world market of orange juice in the last five years increased 13%; 75% of this increase occurred in Asian countries, especially China, and the other 25% in Eastern Europe, Middle East, Latin America and Africa. Prices on the international market are increasing and also point to an optimistic perspective, although in consolidated markets such as the United States, there has been a 6.2% drop in consumption, as a result of a 6.3% increase in prices for end consumers.

Encouraged by higher prices, there is plenty of activity going on in several parts of the world, such as India, China, Costa Rica and Mexico, where new areas are being prepared for orange juice production and juice processing.

In Brazil, the irrigated agricultural complexes of the Municipality of Petrolina, in Pernambuco, and of the Baixio of Irecê, in the State of Bahia, both in the São Francisco Valley, with a total area of 100,000 hectares, have enough potential to produce more than 200 million boxes of oranges a year. Such production would result in more than 800,000 tons of FCOJ, or two thirds of Brazilian exports forecasted for the current crop.

Those areas supported by Embrapa and the Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco [Federal University of the São Francisco Valley] and other researches, in addition to leading edge cultivation techniques, abundant labor and businessmen with strong export mentality, have various advantages in relation to the regions that already produce the fruit. "From a sanitary viewpoint it is much more advantageous, especially due to the absence of citrus canker and the fact that dry climates do not attract citrus diseases", commented the president of Abecitrus.

Furthermore, the agricultural complexes are three days closer by sea to Europe and the United States, the main markets for the industry, and almost as far from the ports of Salvador, Recife and Fortaleza. "The highways are not as those you see in São Paulo, but there are no tolls, the roads are well kept and have little traffic. Moreover, there is the Vale do Rio Doce railroad, connecting Petrolina to the Port of Salvador", he added.

According to Ademerval Garcia, orange production and juice processing in other regions of the country were restricted because of market shortages, appropriate logistics and knowledge of the business. Partnerships with the São Paulo industries solved those difficulties, transferring production technology and encouraging new plantations with adequate techniques for each region. "There is plenty of political and business will to develop those new regions, not only in the Northeast but in the South of Brazil, and our industry is aware and engaged'', he emphasized.

"The fact is that trucks transporting FCOJ to Santos are no longer an exclusive vision of the São Paulo highways. They can be seen in highways of the States of Paraná, Santa Catarina, Bahia and Sergipe, which is very good for Brazil and for the economy of those regions", he added.

Migration
Within the State of São Paulo, citriculture has also gone through intense activity in 2006. In 2000, 55% of the orange production was concentrated in northern São Paulo and 55% in southern São Paulo. This year, the proportion is 45% in the north and 55% in the south. In 2010 the expectations are that this order will be 38% to 62%.

The occurrence of diseases and the age of the groves contributed to the eradication of 149,000 hectares of trees in the most traditional areas. However, in other locations where oranges were not cultivated before, they are now producing the fruit. Hence, of a total of 822.5 thousand hectares of citrus groves in 2000, the citrus complex has now 765,000 hectares of planted areas. The perspectives are that the area will shrink even more, to 700,000 hectares by 2010.

The volume of raw material in the State of Sao Paulo however, has not been reduced. The quantity of oranges produced in the last ten years increased 16%, to 360 million boxes from 311 million boxes, owing to grove denser planting, better management techniques and large investments in irrigation and phytosanitary protection systems. It is estimated that investments in nurseries, new plantations, grove installations and renewal - approximately 18 million nursery trees are planted every year - will reach US$7 billion during this decade.