Maltese orange

The Maltese variety is set to fall 7 per cent in Tunisia

Tunisia is set for an increase in citrus production this year, according to a Minister of Agriculture forecast reported by webmanagercentre.com.

Total citrus volumes are set to grow by 7 per cent in 2013/14, the director general of agriculture noted, up to 355,000 tonnes, up from 330,000 tonnes last year.

Yearly growth will be driven by lemons (volumes up 32 per cent), clementines (+22 per cent), Valencia (+13 per cent) and mandarins (+10 per cent).

However, the Maltese orange variety has been hit by heavy winds leading to fruit loss and a large volume of ageing trees, resulting in a production fall of 7 per cent.