Brazil’s orange juice export volume holds steady as revenue falls 30%
Brazil exported 746.9 thousand tonnes of frozen concentrated orange juice equivalent in the 2025/26 season, up 0.2%, while revenue fell 30% to $2.38 billion. The United States became the largest destination by volume as European purchases declined.
Stable shipments generate sharply lower revenue
Brazil’s orange juice exporters closed the 2025/26 season with virtually unchanged shipment volumes but substantially lower earnings. According to Revista Cultivar, citing Foreign Trade Secretariat data compiled by CitrusBR, exports reached 746.9 thousand tonnes of frozen concentrated orange juice equivalent, 0.2% above the 745.7 thousand tonnes recorded in the previous season.
Revenue moved in the opposite direction. Brasilagro reported that export earnings fell 30%, from $3.42 billion in 2024/25 to $2.38 billion in 2025/26. Brazil therefore shipped slightly more product but received over $1 billion less. The divergence between physical volume and earnings indicates that lower realized prices outweighed the modest increase in shipments.
United States takes the lead by volume
The United States increased its purchases from Brazil by 16.3%, importing 355.8 thousand tonnes during the season, according to Brasilagro. That represented approximately 48% of Brazil’s total exported volume and placed the country ahead of Europe as the largest destination by quantity.
Even with the additional volume, revenue from the US market fell 20.6% to $1.08 billion. The figures show that stronger demand did not compensate for the lower value earned per tonne. For Brazilian processors and exporters, the US supplied volume growth but not revenue growth.
European purchases and earnings contract
Shipments to Europe declined 10.9% to 335.2 thousand tonnes, equivalent to about 45% of total Brazilian exports, Revista Cultivar reported. Europe consequently lost its longstanding lead as the main destination by volume, although it remained the largest market by value.
Revenue from Europe fell 38% to $1.11 billion, according to Brasilagro. The decline was steeper than the contraction in volume, reinforcing the pressure from lower realized prices. Europe and the United States together generated $2.19 billion, accounting for most of Brazil’s orange juice export revenue during the season.
China expands while Japan retreats
Smaller destinations produced mixed results. China imported 25.5 thousand tonnes, 26% more than in the previous season. Revenue from China increased only 1% to $70.3 million, another indication that substantially higher volume translated into limited additional earnings.
Japan moved in the opposite direction. Its imports fell 28.6% to 14.3 thousand tonnes, while associated revenue dropped 45.9%. The sharper decline in value than in physical shipments was consistent with the pattern seen across the larger markets.
Market mix changes the commercial balance
The season’s central change was geographical rather than volumetric. US demand absorbed additional supply and replaced Europe as the leading destination by quantity, while China also expanded purchases. Those gains offset contractions elsewhere sufficiently to keep Brazil’s overall export volume stable.
For producers, processors and traders, however, stable tonnage did not protect cash generation. The 30% fall in total revenue, alongside a 0.2% rise in volume, leaves margins and procurement capacity more exposed to prices agreed in international contracts. The destination mix may continue to shift, but a recovery in earnings will depend on improved realized values as well as demand.
