Meyer lemon
© Jorma Koskinen

Citrons were grown in Mesopotamia as early as 4000 B.C. Most citrus types originated in the large areas of temperate climate around the Himalayas or in south-east Asia. The first written mention of citrus fruit is found in Sanskrit literature around 800 B.C. The cultivation of citrus fruit presumably began in China around 500 B.C. The first citrus brought to Europe was the citron, which came with the army of Alexander the Great in 325 B.C. from Persia. The citron was first used as a perfume and an insecticide and was later found to be edible when properly prepared. The Romans imported oranges and lemons from their provinces as expensive luxuries for their banquets. The plants they grew in Rome survived but bore few fruit. There are recognisable images of citrus fruit on the murals in Pompeii, which was destroyed by a volcano in 79 A.D.

After the Romans citriculture in Europe fell into oblivion for centuries. It is a common mistake repeated in a lot of citrus literature that the first citrus fruit were brought to Europe by the crusaders returning from Jerusalem in the 11th and 12th centuries. It was the Arab conquerors who brought many cultural novelties, citrus among them, to southern Europe with their Holy War as early as the late 8th century. After they conquered southern Spain around 711 A.D. the Khalifs of Cordoba started building the then biggest mosque in the world, the Mezquita of Cordoba in what they called Al-Andaluz. The building was completed in 987 when the famous Patio de los naranjos, the courtyard of oranges also took its final form. The Caliphs of Cordoba were very fond of sour orange trees and ordered them to be planted in the most prominent public spaces of the most important towns. This was the type that later became the Standard sour orange or Seville orange. Lemon and lime soon followed and after the conquest of Sicily we know that all three fruits were grown on the island in the year 1002 A.D. The crusaders did bring citrus fruit to the northern side of the Mediterranean. They re-introduced the citron and also brought the lemon and a type of sour orange that we now know as the bittersweet orange. This is the type that first reached America and the royal courts of Europe. The great voyages of discovery not only enlarged our view of the world but also introduced us to a type of sweet(er) orange in the early 1500's. But it was not until 1635 that the Portuguese planted a new type of citrus fruit they had found in China. It was the first citrus type that could be eaten fresh, the kind that we today know as the sweet orange, which for more than two centuries was called the Portugal orange.

On his second voyage Columbus introduced the first citrus fruits, the bittersweet orange and lemon among them, to America on November 22, 1493 on the Island of Hispaniola. First citrus plants were planted in the continental America on the coast of present-day Mexico on July 12, 1518. Citrus fruit spread to Florida in 1565, South Carolina in 1577, Arizona in 1707 and to California in 1769. It was in Florida and later in Paraguay where the bittersweet orange soon escaped from orchards and became naturalized still growing wild in many areas.

The last of the common citrus fruits to arrive in Europe and the U.S. was the mandarin as late as the beginning of the 19th century. Since then it has become one of the most popular citrus fruits and a source of continuous development and breeding. The research centre of the French Institute for Agricultural Research on the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean has more than 240 different kinds of mandarin trees.

The total world citrus production for the 2010/11 season is forecast at 58,3 million metric tons, 40% of which is grown in China and consumed locally. The most recent statistical data by country is available from the year 2009. The three biggest producers remain the same but India has now reached the fourth position ahead of Mexico and Spain.

World citrus total production in 2009, mostly consumed domestically.
Country	metric tons	Country	metric tons
China	23 088 471	Greece	1 009 956
Brazil	19 752 262	Algeria	844 952
United States of America	10 740 150	Peru	809 714
India	8 128 393	Viet Nam	623 576
Mexico	7 124 577	Republic of Korea	621 382
Spain	5 240 100	Israel	592 118
Iran	4 138 700	Ghana	575 479
Nigeria	3 769 420	Venezuela	511 206
Italy	3 745 000	Australia	487 351
Turkey	3 513 771	Cuba	420 383
Egypt	3 295 495	Tunisia	419 416
Argentina	2 200 000	Lebanon	392 000
South Africa	2 186 042	Costa Rica	390 951
Pakistan	2 132 000	Paraguay	326 489
Indonesia	2 102 560	Guatemala	315 983
Morocco	1 763 037	Chile	297 000
Thailand	1 308 827	Honduras	292 295
Japan	1 191 250	Portugal	280 341
Colombia	1 167 531	Uruguay	268 621
Syrian Arab Republic	1 092 598	Belize	266 127
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations

In 2008 the biggest citrus exporters were
1. Spain, 2. South Africa, 3. United States (oranges, grapefruit, grapefruit juice, lemons and limes),
4. Turkey,  5. Argentina, 6. China, 7. Mexico and 8. Morocco.

The biggest citrus importers by far are the 27 EU countries whose main EU external imports come from South Africa, Argentina, Morocco and Turkey. After the EU the biggest importers are 2. Russia (mainly from Egypt, Turkey, South Africa, Spain) 3. United States (orange juice, lemons, limes and mandarins), 4. Canada, 5. Japan, 6. Ukraine, 7. Hong Kong, 8. Malaysia, 9. Switzerland and 10. Indonesia.

(Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service: Citrus World Markets and Trade, 4/2008.)

The biggest production areas of orange juice are Sao Paulo, Brazil and Florida, US. The biggest orange juice consumers are U.S., EU, Canada, Russia and Japan. A new feature that has emerged in the last few decades is the year-round availability of citrus fruit in the biggest consumer areas of North America and Europe. Because of the development of new late maturing cultivars the first ripe fruit of the new season are available in South Africa, Argentina, Australia and Brazil before the previous crops are finished in the northern hemisphere. After six months the situation is reversed.

It is important to remember that unlike most other commercially grown fruit the majority of the citrus fruits (oranges, mandarins, lemons, citrons and most grapefruit) mature during the local winter. In Europe the high season is from November to March. Including the early and late varieties the whole season lasts from October to May. Citrus fruit of the tropical climate (limes, pomelos and some grapefruit types) are an exception to this. Some pomelos can bear four crops in a year and some limes are picked once a month throughout the year.