The most consumed fruit juice in France could soon disappear from supermarket shelves. A shortage in particular due to the consequences of global warming.
Food shortages continue to plague French supermarket shelves. The next victim: the Orange juice. In the next few months, you may find it very difficult to find them, or at much higher prices. Of the 18 liters per person per year of fruit juice consumed by the French, orange juice is by far the most popular. It has peaked for several decades at almost 44% of fruit juice sales in 2017. A ranking far above the other types of juice: number 2 (the multifruit) accounts for only 22% of sales.
However, industry professionals are sounding the alarm. The National Interprofessional Union of Fruit Juices (Unijus), is concerned in a press release dated May 11 2023 from a shortage of orange juice. Indeed, manufacturers are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain orange concentrate from their usual producers. Orange concentrate is used in nearly 23% of the juices on the market, but the shortage could very soon spread, by domino effect, to all orange juice, even pure juice.
What’s next after this ad
A consequence of global warming
The shortage of orange juice is mainly due to the consequences of natural disasters linked to global warming. The countries that produce the most oranges experienced several climatic events in 2022 which resulted in the destruction of crops. In Florida, for example, Hurricane Ian destroyed a lot of fields. For the year 2022/2023, American production will be only 16 million crates (of 41 kg) according to the Unijus press release, nearly 60% less than in 2021/2022. Emmanuel Vasseneix, President of the Union, specifies: “Florida is moving away from citrus growing in favor of real estate construction.”
The other countries that usually produce are not left out. Spain and Mexico are in great difficulty because of the dryness of the soils. In Mexico, production fell by 30% in one year. Then remains the world number 1: Brazil. Faced with growing demand, the country cannot fulfill all its orders. The country had to impose quite drastic delivery quotas. The result is a mechanical increase in the selling price of raw materials. A surge that will quickly be felt in stores.