Fruit prices rose to a record high in Germany and juice began to become a luxury item for consumers
“The orange juice crisis only gets worse”, “Orange juice is more and more expensive”, “Orange juice is only going to get more expensive”. These are some of the titles of reports published in the German press in recent weeks, in light of new significant increases in the price of the drink, which is expected to become even more expensive in Germany and the European Union due to production problems in Brazil.
According to representatives of the German juice sector, the price of orange juice quoted on the stock exchange is 150% more expensive compared to the beginning of 2022. And consumers have felt this increase, with some German newspapers pointing out that the juice, which used to Once a basic item, it is now becoming a luxury item, just as it was until the mid-1960s.
According to industry associations, orange juice was the most consumed fruit drink in Germany in 2023. Annual consumption per inhabitant reached 6.8 liters.
Throughout 2023, problems with harvests in the United States and Spain had already put pressure on prices. Now, the latest surge is originating in Brazil, said Klaus Heitlinger, director of the Association of the German Fruit Juice Industry.
Brazil is the largest exporter of oranges in the world, accounting for 80% of the global fruit market.
Atypical climate and illness
Brazilian production is concentrated in the so-called citrus belt, formed by São Paulo and the triangle/southwest of Minas Gerais. The 2023/2024 harvest in the belt had already been 2.22% smaller compared to the previous season, but now the forecast for 2024/2025 is substantially worse.
According to a projection from the Brazilian Fundecitrus (Citrus Defense Fund), the 2024/2025 harvest should have a drop of 24.3% compared to the previous harvest. With a forecast of 232.38 million boxes of 40.8 kilos, the next Brazilian harvest could be the worst since 1988/1989.
Brazil’s orange juice stock had also reached its second lowest volume in the last 13 years last year. In March, the Brazilian orange market had already recorded the highest real price in 30 years, with a box of fruit selling for around R$100 in some regions of São Paulo. Because of Brazil’s dominance in the sector, there are no competitors on the same scale to compensate for the potential global orange deficit.
According to sector experts, the drop in production in Brazil is due to a combination of atypical temperatures and the incidence of “yellow dragon disease”, or greeninga bacterial disease that attacks orchards and was detected for the first time in Brazil 20 years ago.
The combination of climate and disease had already affected crops in the United States, another major global producer. In 2022/2023, the orange harvest in the USA was the worst on record in 86 years. In Spain, the EU’s largest orange producer, prolonged droughts have punished the latest harvests.
“The dry and hot weather impacted the production of orange trees, in addition to an aggravated scenario with a high incidence of greening in plantations. Temperatures have risen sharply since the arrival of the El Niño phenomenon that took hold in June last year and caused greater evapotranspiration and a reduction in soil moisture. In total there were three heat waves, after the first flowering”said Vinícius Trombin, coordinator of the Fundecitrus Harvest Estimation Survey, during the release of the sector’s forecasts.
German juice maker calls for substitutes
Faced with the soaring price of oranges on the international market, some juice manufacturers in Germany have been looking for substitutes – and angering consumers. In May, the German press pointed out that the manufacturer Eckes-Granini, one of the sector’s giants in the country, began to dilute its orange juice with sweetened water and doses of vitamin C. In this way, the juice that was advertised as “100% orange” now only has 50% of its content extracted from the fruit.
German consumer associations denounced the maneuver, accusing the company of not having properly publicized the change and misleading buyers. In practice, consumers are now paying the same for a juice with 50% less orange. Furthermore, the dilution also increased the sugar level in the juice, despite the company having announced in 2023 that it was prioritizing the reduction of the substance in its products.
Faced with critical reports, the company tried to defend itself by stating that the maneuver was put into practice to avoid passing on price increases.
“To keep the recommended retail prices of the Granini line stable this year, we have replaced the Granini orange juice (100% fruit content) with an orange nectar (50% fruit content). This adjustment allows us, on the one hand, to guarantee availability despite the current shortage situation and, on the other hand, to maintain constant prices despite the significant increase in the price of raw materials.”declared Eckes-Granini.
Deutsche Welle is Germany’s international broadcaster and produces independent journalism in 30 languages.
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