Band 7+: 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 bar charts illustrate the exports of four categories of citrus fruits namely, oranges, lemons, grapefruits, and others from the top three exporting countries in 2012.

Overall, oranges were the most widely exported citrus fruits, with South Africa taking the lead, whereas Turkey was the largest exporter of grapefruits. It is also clear that the majority of lemon and others exporting came from Mexico.

In terms of oranges and grapefruits, South Africa exported the highest quantity of oranges, reaching 1 million tonnes, significantly higher than Egypt’s export of 5 million tonnes and the United States at around 4 million tonnes. For grapefruits, Turkey was the top exporter at 4 million tonnes, followed by Mexico at 3 million tonnes and the United States at 2 million tonnes.

Turning to lemons and other types of fruits, not only did Mexico rank first, but the amounts of lemons and others were also nearly identical, shipping out approximately 5 million tonnes. 2 and 1 million tonnes of lemons were exported by the United States and Argentina, respectively. The quantity of other fruits exported in Egypt and the United States was insignificant, at about 0.5 million tonnes.