Orange production in Brazil Brazilian reals. Orange production in Brazil Brazil is a major producer of oranges. The orange was introduced to Brazil by the Portuguese around 1530. According to the statistical database of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 702,200 hectares of oranges were harvested in 2013; this is down from 836,041 hectares in 2003. Brazil is also the world's largest exporter of orange juice. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the country shipped 1.2 million metric tons of orange juice in 2012—twelve times more than the United States, the world's second-largest exporter. In 2013, it was reported that many
Orange (fruit) of this crop is used mostly for juice extraction. The Valencia orange is a late-season fruit, and therefore a popular variety when navel oranges are out of season. This is why an anthropomorphic orange was chosen as the mascot for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, held in Spain. The mascot was named Naranjito ("little orange") and wore the colors of the Spanish national football team. Thomas Rivers, an English nurseryman, imported this variety from the Azores Islands and catalogued it in 1865 under the name Excelsior. Around 1870, he provided trees to S. B. Parsons, a Long Island nurseryman, who