How big is NZs citrus industry?

In 2025, the total citrus volume for New Zealand was ~ 27,000 tonnes. To put this into perspective, world citrus production is 60 million tonnes. New Zealand’s contribution to global citrus production is less than 0.05%.

The three main growing regions is Gisborne, Northland and the Bay of Plenty/Waikato.

Citrus industry in numbers

  316
  Growers

  1,660
  Hectares planted

  27,617
  Tonnes of citrus fruit

  1+
  Million trees

  $59.2
  Million in domestic sales

  $14.1
  Million exported

Citrus varieties in numbers

Mandarins

192 Growers

556 Hectares

10,920 Tonnes

513,870 Trees

$28m Domestic

$0.8m Export

Oranges

176 Growers

783 Hectares

10,100 Tonnes

320,840 Trees

$16.6m Domestic

$1m Export

Tangelos

28 Growers

22 Hectares

637 Tonnes

11,105 Trees

$1m Domestic

$0.1m Export

Lemons

75 Growers

257 Hectares

7,000 Tonnes

153,730 Trees

$10.8m Domestic

$7.2m Export

Limes

47 Growers

27 Hectares

712 Tonnes

8,960 Trees

$2.7m Domestic

Grapefruit

18 Growers

15 Hectares

370 Tonnes

4,247 Trees

0.7 Domestic

*1 Many growers produce more than one citrus variety.
The average yield is 18 T / ha over all varieties

Up to date citrus statistics are available at Freshfacts.