International trade in pomelos and grapefruits: volumes, countries, trends

In this research, the authors aimed to examine changes in the volume and structure of international trade in pomelos and grapefruits from 2015 to 2024. Using FAO statistics, it was found that over the specified analysis period, global exports of these citrus fruits decreased by 4.94%: from 1,032,776 to 981,794 thousand tons, while imports decreased by 4.0%: from 1,050,156 to 1,008,135 thousand tons. Based on the results for 2024, the authors selected twenty countries each as leaders in these two areas of international trade. For each country, their share was determined, as well as the difference between actual and calculated data for 2015 and 2024. Two rankings were compiled in tabular form: for exports and imports of the studied types of fruit and berry products. It was found that the top ten countries in terms of supplies of pomelos and grapefruits to foreign markets accounted for 89.04% of the corresponding global volume, while the second ten accounted for only 6.98%, for a total of 96.02%. In global imports of these citrus fruits, the corresponding figures were 66.96, 17.14 and 84.10%. Five countries with the largest positive and negative changes in these figures were also identified. The leaders in terms of export growth were South Africa – 78,388 thousand tons, China – 38,672 thousand tons, Laos – 28,884 thousand tons, Thailand – 16,268 thousand tons, Egypt – 12,111 thousand tons, and imports: China – 59,579 thousand tons, the USA – 25,589 thousand tons, Russia – 21,296 thousand tons, Saudi Arabia – 12,076 thousand tons and Kazakhstan – 11,379 thousand tons. The largest negative change in exports was in the USA – 118,382 thousand tons, Turkey – 32,299 thousand tons, Israel – 21,331 thousand tons, the Netherlands – 13,652 thousand tons, Mexico – 10,634 thousand tons, and imports in Japan – 68,422 thousand tons, France – 26,810 thousand tons, Canada – 13,649 thousand tons, Italy – 11,373 thousand tons and Poland – 9,929 thousand tons. It was established that a number of countries are present in both ratings, since the re-export of pomelos and grapefruits is carried out through them.