Padhi Soubindra Kumar

Citrus in Odisha Padhi Soubindra Kumar

Citrus is one of the most important fruit crops since antiquity and is a good source of vitamin-C with high antioxidant potential (Gorinstein et al. 2004). Currently, citrus is cultivated in the subtropical and tropical regions of the world between 40º North and 40º South latitude in 137 countries spread over six continents and generates about 105 billion US dollar per year in the world fruit market (Ismail and Zhang, 2004). Annually, more than 104 million tonnes of citrus are produced and about 15 million tonnes are traded (FAO, 2004). The main citrus producing countries are Brazil and USA. Spain is the leading citrus producing country in the European Union. The USA and Brazil are the leading producing countries of processed citrus. Other major citrus producing countries are Israel, Morocco, South Africa, Japan, Turkey and Cuba. Most of the orange juice is produced in Florida and China. These countries represent more than two thirds in global citrus production. In the world, Brazil occupies first position in total citrus production (20.68 million tonnes). India tops in Lime and Lemon production (2.06 million tonnes.