Lemons

Citrus is one of most important horticultural industries in NSW with a production area of around 13,000 hectares. The Australian citrus industry is the largest fresh fruit exporter in Australia worth in excess of A$200 million annually. NSW produces around 250,000 tonnes of citrus annually representing 40% of Australian production and 36% of citrus exports. The largest and most important production areas in NSW are in the Riverina and Murray Valley regions, with smaller plantings located around Bourke, Narromine and the Central and North coast regions of NSW.

The main citrus fruits grown in NSW are navel and Valencia oranges, mandarins, lemons, limes and grapefruit.NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has the largest citrus research and extension team in Australia and plays a leading role in supporting the NSW and Australian citrus industry with its substantial research, extension and information capacity.

Lemon and lime juice, both from the fresh fruit and from juice concentrates, provide more citric acid per liter than ready-to-consume grapefruit juice, ready-to-consume orange juice, and orange juice squeezed from the fruit. Ready-to-consume lemonade formulations and those requiring mixing with water contain ≤6 times the citric acid, on an ounce-for-ounce basis, of lemon and lime juice.