How big is NZs citrus industry?

Growers produce around 30,000 tonnes of citrus each year. To put this into perspective, world citrus production is 60 million tonnes. New Zealand’s contribution to global citrus production is less than 0.05%.

Citrus is mainly produced in Gisborne and Northland . The most recent statistics for the 2020 season are summarised below.

Citrus industry in numbers

  316
  Growers

  1,660
  Hectares planted

  29,743
  Tonnes of citrus fruit

  1+
  Million trees

  $60.2
  Million in domestic sales

  $9.5
  Million exported

Citrus varieties in numbers

Mandarins

192 Growers

556 Hectares

10,920 Tonnes

513,870 Trees

$28m Domestic

$0.8m Export

Oranges

176 Growers

783 Hectares

10,100 Tonnes

320,840 Trees

$16.6m Domestic

$1m Export

Tangelos

28 Growers

22 Hectares

637 Tonnes

11,105 Trees

$1m Domestic

$0.1m Export

Lemons

75 Growers

257 Hectares

7,000 Tonnes

153,730 Trees

$10.8m Domestic

$7.2m Export

Limes

47 Growers

27 Hectares

712 Tonnes

8,960 Trees

$2.7m Domestic

Grapefruit

18 Growers

15 Hectares

370 Tonnes

4,247 Trees

0.7 Domestic

*1 Many growers produce more than one citrus variety.
The average yield is 18 T / ha over all varieties

Up to date citrus statistics are available at Freshfacts.