Fruit

Citrus

Papaya

Golden Apple

Bananas

​Citrus

Description

Citrus refers to the group of fruit which include the orange, lime, lemon, grapefruit and tangerine. Citrus fruits are notable for their fragrance, partly due to flavonoids and limonoids contained in the rind, and most are juice-laden. The juice contains a high quantity of citric acid giving them their characteristic sharp flavour. Many species are cultivated for their fruit, which is eaten fresh, pressed for juice, or preserved in jams, marmalades and pickles.

Citrus trees hybridise very readily. Thus all commercial citrus cultivation uses trees produced by grafting the desired fruiting cultivars onto rootstocks selected for disease resistance and hardiness.

Current Situation

Citrus is the largest category of fruit produced regionally with an estimated total of 595,789 metric tonnes in 2006 and represented 40% of total fruit production, which was dominated by Belize and Jamaica.

With regard to fruit imports into CARICOM in 2006, citrus came in fourth with 10%. And in the case of exports, citrus was the third main export commodity at 6%, preceded by banana and papaya. The main exporters were Belize and Jamaica.

In terms of growth, citrus production increased from 8.2m kg in 2005 to 8.9m kg in 2008 resulting in an increase of 8.9%.

Table: CARICOM Citrus Production (Tonnes) 2012 - 2013 (Source: FAOSTAT)

Key: F = FAO estimate, lm = FAO data based on imputation methodology

The CARICOM Fresh and Processed Market Opportunity Study states that oranges dominate citrus production in the Caribbean, making up more than two thirds of all citrus produced. The crop is both sold whole and processed as juice in concentrated and single strength forms.

Production is concentrated in Belize and to lesser extent in:

• Jamaica
• Bahamas
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Dominica
• Suriname

Oranges are exported both as whole fruit and as juice. However, only about 5% of the CARICOM’s production is exported as whole fruit. In a few countries, a substantial proportion of the crop is processed and the value of regional juice exports significantly exceeds that of whole fruit exports by a factor of three or more.

Regional imports of orange juice are considerable, averaging 14,000 metric tonnes per annum. However, most of this is imported from within the region, which is therefore a net exporter of orange juice.

Grapefruit production, at approximately one-third of orange by volume, is distributed amongst a range of countries and export volumes are effectively concentrated in two countries. The Bahamas led in the export of whole fruit accounting for 92% of exports, while Belize accounts for 99% of all grapefruit and pomelo juice exports.

Business Case

Why invest in citrus production?

• Greater prospects exist in intra-regional markets for fruit juice production

Citrus producers/processors

• Citrus Products of Belize Limited
• Citrus Growers Association
• Jamaica Citrus Growers Association

Papaya

Description

Papaya (Carica papaya), also known as paw paw, is popularly grown in the tropics and is adapted to diverse soils and climates. The fruit has a sweet taste and good flavours, and is high in vitamin C and other nutrients. It is also versatile, with unripe fruit cooked as a vegetable much like a summer squash, or used in cubes for salads.

Current situation

According to the findings of a document entitled “The Papaya Industry in CARICOM:​ Competitiveness and Industry Development Strategies”,  the  papaya industry in CARICOM is “relatively underdeveloped. The volume of production is commercially significant in only a few countries, with the most important being Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago.”

Papaya, as a significant export industry, is limited mainly to Belize and Jamaica, with exports in both cases dominated by few large producers /exporters. The Belizean Papaya industry is the largest in CARICOM, ranking second to Mexico in terms of the volume of exports to the US market with production being concentrated among three large producers.

One of the constraints identified in a Market Intelligence Report on papaya is Caribbean suppliers/producers’ inability to consistently supply large volumes of high quality papaya to the US, Canada and UK markets.

Also these markets appear to have a stronger preference for smaller single serve fruits and in this regard there is a marked preference for the Solo and Solo Sunrise varieties. These have a competitive edge over other larger varieties such as Maridol and Red Flesh.

Another constraint facing the region’s papaya industry is the state of development of the domestic market. This market remains underexploited, particularly the tourism component. So too is the development of the value added aspect of the industry.

Table: Papaya Production (Tonnes) (Source: FAOSTAT)

*Data not available for other countries

Business case

Why invest in papaya production?

• Regional demand for papaya remains undersupplied with respect to its various uses
• Local populations and tourism sectors have a strong preference for papaya as a fruit
• Potential to dominate domestic and international markets due to its use as both table fruit and in its green form as a processing raw material
• CARICOM’s imports for 2014 were USD $973,000 while exports were USD $10.67 million
• Belize is the major exporting country accounting for 98.1% of the quantity exported
• The US is the most important market for CARICOM producers to target due to
  • size of the market (US $58.3 M)
  • growth trends
  • close proximity
• Other markets, including the EU (especially the UK) and Canada, offer export potential