Band 8+: The graphs below show four categories of citrus fruits and the top three countries to which these were exported (in thousand tonnes) in 2012. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

The graph below illustrates the proportions of four types of citrus and also three countries which exported the most in each type in 2012.

Overall, it is clear that orange exports took the lead, with the most exported by South Africa. Besides, grapefruits were most traded in Turkey. Additionally, Mexico is the country with the largest exports of lemons and other types of citrus.

Looking first at the orange trade, there is a significant imbalance among each nation. South Africa ranked first with 1,000 thousand tonnes exported, considerably higher than Egypt with 500 thousand tonnes, followed by the United States with about 400 thousand tonnes of oranges exported in 2012. Turkey took dominance in the export of grapefruits with 400 thousand tonnes, while the trade in Mexico was slightly lower with 300 thousand tonnes. The United States still ranked the lowest in grapefruit exports.

Turning to the lemon proportion, Mexico stood in the highest position with about 500 thousand tonnes, significantly higher than the remaining nations. Following that, the United States exported 200 thousand tonnes in 2012, and finally Argentina with 100 thousand tonnes, which was twice as low as the United States’ exports. For the other types of citrus, Mexico still maintained its dominance with 500 thousand tonnes exported in 2012. However, the quantity of other fruits exported by Egypt and the United States was insignificant, at an average of 0.5 thousand tonnes.