FOODNEWS
Thursday July 09 2009

ORANGE growers from the state of São Paulo have travelled to Brasilia to beg for aid from the government. The producers requested a minimum price for the fruit, better negotiations with the juice industry and promotional campaigns to boost orange juice consumption.

São Paulo produces 80% of the national orange output. The price currently paid by the processing industry is BRL3.50/40.8 kg box (US$ 1.75/40.8 kg box). The exporters association, CitrusBR, has said that global orange juice consumption has been falling in the last year and that production is currently higher than demand.