Agriculture - National Horticulture Industry Profiles - Citrus
Citrus
Citrus—orange, mandarin, lemon, lime, grapefuit and tangelo—is Australia’s second largest fruit industry after pome fruit. In 1996/97, the gross value of citrus production in Australia was $392 m, about 10% of the total gross value for Australian horticulture. Oranges are the major crop, comprising about two-thirds of the total value for citrus in 1996/97.
Significant changes in irrigation have seen mini sprinklers or drip systems replace less efficient furrow and overhead sprinkler systems. Irrigation water salinity is an increasing concern for growers in the Murray-Darling basin, and is driving many of the changes in irrigation technology in this region.
Major producing areas
Citrus is grown commercially across all 11 agro-ecological regions. However most orchards are in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (New South Wales), and the Sunraysia (Victoria) and Riverland (South Australia) irrigation regions, where the climate is warm (mean annual maximum 24°C) and dry (250-400 mm annual rainfall). Other major orchards are in south-east Queensland (producing around 70% of Australia’s mandarins) and some smaller areas in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Crops produced
Crop1996/97 |
Production (t) |
Value ($m) |
|---|---|---|
| Grapefruit | 13 710 | 6.3 |
| Lemon/lime | 32 990 | 31.1 |
| Mandarins | 72 940 | 86.9 |
| Oranges | 522 620 | 263.7 |
| Tangelos | 3 000 | 3.8 |
| Total | 645 260 | 391.8 |
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Major production regions
| Region | Agro-ecological region |
Production (t) |
Value ($m) |
% of total crop area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverina, NSW | Temperate slopes & plains | 153 540 | 77.7 | 25 |
| Riverland, SA | Temperate slopes & plains | 185 150 | 98.0 | 22 |
| Sunraysia, NSW/Vic | Arid interior/temperate slopes & plains | 133 800 | 77.7 | 19 |
| Gayndah/Mundubbera, Qld | Wet subtropical coast | 39 560 | 45.4 | 6 |
| Gosford, NSW | Wet temperate coasts | 9 170 | 7.5 | 2 |
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Production, production trends and exportsCitrus production has trended upwards over the past five years, despite a lighter than average season for oranges (due to poor seasonal conditions) in 1998/99. The proportion of fresh citrus (as opposed to processed) has also increased from 39% in 1994/95 to 54% in 1998/99. Australia’s citrus production accounts for around 1% of total world production. Fresh citrus represents Australia’s single highest-returning horticultural export commodity, generating close to $150 m (from 134 200 tonnes) in 1998/99, an increase of almost $50 m (26 200 tonnes) from 1994/95. Despite this, Australian exports of fresh citrus only account for around 1% of world exports. The United States and Spain combined account for over 40%. The major destination of fresh citrus exports from Australia is the Asia-Pacific region, with principal markets being Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States, Malaysia, Japan and New Zealand. Almost half of all fresh citrus exports in 1998/99 came from South Australia. Australian exports of citrus juice in 1998/99 were around 11.5 million litres, worth almost $15 m, representing around 0.5% of world exports. The processed citrus juice market is dominated by Brazil, which accounts for around 40% of total world exports. The major destinations for Australia’s citrus juice exports are New Zealand, Japan and Hong Kong. |
Industry contact
Australian Citrus Growers: 10/118 King William Street, Adelaide, South Australia 5000; telephone: (08) 8212 4245;
email: austcitrus@msn.com.au
Production and value data sources
Horticultural Research and Development Corporation 2000, Horticultural Productivity and Sustainability Project
Australian Bureau of Statistics 1996, AgStats 1996-97
National Land and Water Resources Audit 2000, non-agricultural land mask from 1:1 000 000 Landuse in Australia
Agriculture Fisheries Forestry - Australia 1996, Agro-ecological Regions of Australia
Horticultural Research and Development Corporation, Australian Horticultural Corporation, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics 2000, Australian Horticulture in the Global Environment
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