China is expected to produce 15 million tons of citrus fruits in 2004 and overtake the United States as the world's second largest citrus producer, after Brazil,according to the China Citrus Institute (CCI).

The country's citrus output has so far grown for four consecutive years, said CCI.

Citrus production in southeast China's Zhejiang Province, a major citrus producer in China, was affected by Typhoon Rananim, the strongest typhoon to hit the Chinese mainland since 1956. Butoutput should reach the level of last year, about 1.8 million tons,said experts.

China's citrus marketing situation will be tough, but overall prices will be no lower than last year's, they explained.

Experts said this is attributed to the growth of domestic processing capacity, home demand and exports.

Source: Xinhua