An interesting example of a developing country supplier of organic citrus and tropical juices is the Peruvian company Frutosa. Frutosa is a private venture, supported by several associates, including the Pronatur growers collective, which supplies organic fruit for the production of purees. Frutosa successfully entered the European market in partnership with French aromatic and fruit ingredients supplier Astier Demarest. Sustainability Germany, being the largest European organic market, is especially attractive for organic juices. For example, 31% of lemons sold in Germany (often used for lemonade) are organic according to a Biofach 2020 presentation. Retail sales of fruit juices and nectars in the Netherlands decreased from 335 thousand litres in 2011 to 169 thousand litres in 2019. Under the influence of COVID-19, sales increased again in 2020 to 175 thousand litres. Mixed flavour juices and nectars are the most popular in the Netherlands, accounting for 45%, followed by orange flavour (27%). Tropical juices are popular ingredients among Dutch producers of mixed flavour juices. Those mixed flavour juices are usually labelled with names such as ‘ Tropisch/Tropical’, ‘ Exotisch/Exotic’ or ‘ Multivitamine’/’Multivitamin’ and contain some proportion of citrus and tropical juices.

of the problems that the EU industry is facing is that the statement ‘no added sugar’ is not allowed for fruit juices. However, this statement is allowed for other drinks, which led to the development of many new low-calorie drinks such as flavoured waters and carbonated, energy and other soft drinks. For example, it is expected that energy drink consumption will continue to increase at an average annual rate of more than 6%. Citrus and tropical juices are consumed less often as pure juices and are more often used as ingredients in those drinks. The Netherlands is by far Europe’s largest importer of citrus and tropical juices. Since 2016, imports increased at an average annual rate of 6%, reaching a record 1.05 billion litres in 2020. However, it is estimated that around 90% of all imported citrus and tropical juices are re-exported to other destinations, primarily Germany and France. The remaining 10% is consumed domestically, which means that the Netherlands is actually a rather small market. Vitamin C is already an established ingredient in juices and nectars, mostly because of its antioxidant properties. COVID-19 has contributed to the development of drinks with more added nutrients that can have a positive impact on the immune system. These drinks often use citrus and tropical juices as ingredients with added complex vitamins, minerals (especially zinc) and probiotics. British importers buy relatively small quantities of citrus and tropical juice directly from origin. They mostly import from other European suppliers. Spain is gaining a bigger share of the British market, with an annual export growth of 16%. García Carrión ­( Don Simon brand) is 1 of the leading Spanish suppliers to the British market. Aside from Brazil, the supply from developing countries is small, but some countries – such as the Philippines (coconut water and concentrated pineapple), Thailand (pineapple) and Mexico (lime) – are increasing their exports to the United Kingdom. Citrus and tropical juices mainly consist of the liquid contained in citrus or tropical fruit. Tropical fruit is grown in tropical regions (the climatic zone surrounding the Equator), while citrus fruit more specifically belongs to the genus Citrus. Due to climatic conditions, tropical fruit cannot be produced in Europe, except in a few isolated islands that belong to European countries. Some citrus fruit is grown and processed into juices in Mediterranean Europe. Still, most citrus juices are imported because domestic production cannot satisfy European demand.The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has contributed to the development of many immunity-boosting products, including juices. According to research by Mintel, the COVID-19 outbreak has prompted 45% of consumers in Europe to add more nutrients into their diet, while 29% has reported being more interested in foods that can support your immune system since the start of the pandemic. The largest share of citrus juice trade belongs to orange juice, followed by grapefruit, lemon and lime. Other citrus fruit juices such as mandarin, tangerine, pomelo and yuzu are traded in relatively small quantities. The largest share of tropical juice trade belongs to pineapple juice, followed by passion fruit (maracuja).

Cawood claimed economies of scale – it is the second-biggest juice producer in Europe and has long-term contracts with more than 30,000 farmers – gave it the ability to undercut Innocent. It added that it planned a “strong calendar” of price promotions. Germany is the largest juice market in Europe, with a very strong and increasing offer of organic juices. However, apple juice is more popular than citrus and tropical flavours. German imports of citrus and tropical juices have increased at an average annual rate of 2% over the last 5 years, reaching 590 thousand tonnes in 2020. Most of these imported juices are used for domestic consumption, but large quantities are also exported to other European countries, with France and the United Kingdom being the main markets. Some European countries (such as Spain and Italy) produce citrus juices, but production is not sufficient to satisfy local demand. Europe imported 1.8 million tonnes of tropical and citrus juices from non-European countries in 2020. This study covers general information that is of interest to producers in developing countries regarding the market for citrus and tropical juices in Europe. Please see Table 1 with the products and their product codes used for statistical analysis. Please note that fruit purees are not included in the statistical analysis, as there is no officially defined statistical code for these products. When ‘Europe’ is referred to in this study, it means the 27 Member States of the European Union, plus the United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. See our study on Market Statistics & Outlook for Processed Fruit and Vegetables for more information on general trade developments within the European processed fruit and vegetables sector.According to ‘Financial Food’ (based on combined Nielsen and Kantar data), the consumption of fruit juices in Spain has continued to decrease despite the impact of COVID-19. The total volume of fruit juices and nectars sold in 2020 was estimated at 734 million litres. Fruit juices accounted for 41% of consumption, while the remaining 59% were nectars (with a 25-99% juice content). Orange juice is the most popular flavour with a share of around 36%, followed by pineapple with 26%. Other tropical fruits account for around 15%. Evaporation – different types of evaporation equipment are used to remove water from fruit juices. The most common types include the continuous flow of juice through several heated tubes under vacuum. As heat is used to evaporate water from juice, no additional pasteurisation is needed. The United Kingdom is the third-ranked importer of citrus and tropical juices in Europe, with a decreasing import trend until 2019. The average annual import decrease of this category of juices was 3% over the last 5 years. However, in 2020, partially due to the impact of COVID-19, the market started to recover. Imports of most juices increased, reaching 524 thousand tonnes. Orange juice accounts for more than 80% of the entire category. Strong import growth was also noted for NFC pineapple, concentrated orange, mandarin and lemon juices.