Orange juice: Lower yields on the East Coast and in Brazil lead to NZ shortage

Throughout August, supermarket chillers were left empty as local producers ran out of orange juice. Photo / 123RF

By RNZ

Struggling to find your favourite chilled orange juice? You’re not the only one.

A combination of lower yields on the East Coast due to Cyclone Gabrielle damage and smaller yields from Brazil, the world’s largest orange grower, have left supermarket chiller shelves bare of orange juice.

Brazilian orchards have been hit by drought and disease and yields are down by at least a third.

In July, industry group Citrus New Zealand said it didn’t anticipate New Zealand’s orange juice supplies would be impacted by the shortage of oranges from Brazil.

But throughout August, supermarket chillers were left empty as local producers ran dry of OJ.

Distributor Better Drinks Company said its Charlie’s-brand orange juice has been affected by the global shortage, prompting inquiries from the public.

It ran out of stock last month - but said orange juice should be back on the shelves soon.

It’s the same story for Hastings-based Homegrown Juice, which produces raw, cold-pasteurised juices.

A Foodstuffs spokesperson said the global shortage of orange juice was impacting supply at some of its stores.

“We’re working with our suppliers to increase production of smaller bottles so more units will be on the shelves.

“We’re also boosting the supply of blended juices like orange and apple and orange and mango to provide customers with more options.”

A Woolworths spokesperson said some suppliers were experiencing procurement issues with juices from Australia, so it has introduced its new own-brand line this week to address it.

Auckland-based organic produce vendor and juice maker Bruce Coventry, of Living Juices, said the shortage spoke to the wider issue of fewer orange orchards being planted because it was not financially viable for growers.

Coventry said prices were stuck at $1 a kilogram for growers for about a decade, and they’ve only just increased to $2 a kilo - which he said was still tight for him, but good for growers.

“I am starting to see a lot of small growers just giving up - in fact, properly, every couple of months I see a grower give up because of the cost and stringency of certification, especially in the organic side of things,” he said.

“The bigger players have whole departments for their admin. They’re the only ones who can afford to make any decent money because of the compliance issues and the fact they have money to produce at a larger scale.”

Coventry said smaller growers might have a high-quality product but it’s difficult to make a living.

- RNZ