Citrus From Belize is Making a Promising Comeback

Came across this quote while scouring the interwebs for juice news…

“Plants are more courageous than almost all human beings: an orange tree would rather die than produce lemons, whereas instead of dying the average person would rather be someone they are not.”

— Mokokoma Mokhonoana

Juice News 🧃

American Beverage Association challenges Santa Cruz soda tax with lawsuit

The American Beverage Association, alongside a group of grocers, retailers and restaurant owners, filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the city of Santa Cruz in Sacramento Superior Court, challenging the city’s recently enacted sugar-sweetened beverage tax.

The plaintiffs argue that the city’s tax conflicts with state law and violates the California Constitution. They are asking the court to declare the tax unenforceable and to require the city to refund all money collected from the tax since it went into effect earlier this month.

COFCO Coca-Cola Celebrates 25 Years as Witness and Driver of China’s Beverage Industry Upgrade

Founded in 2000 during China's transition from a planned to a market economy, COFCO Coca-Cola overcame early market challenges by leveraging Coca-Cola's global expertise and COFCO Group's local operational strength. Within a decade, it secured its position among Coca-Cola's Global Top 10 Bottling Partners – a status it maintains today.

India: Yohan and Michelle Poonawalla invests in mass-premium beverage brand TOVA

Prominent industrialists and philanthropists Yohan and Michelle Poonawalla have announced an undisclosed investment in TOVA, a mass-premium beverage brand that specialises in immunity-boosting, herb-infused packaged water.

Founded in 2022 under Ayushkalki Wellness by Lakshmi Srinivasan and PS Srinivasan, TOVA brings the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda into a modern, accessible format aimed at enhancing everyday wellness.

The brand's range of herb-infused waters captures the goodness of traditional Ayurvedic ingredients in soothing and refreshing flavour profiles, backed by exclusive research and development efforts with food technology institutes in India.

Thai Coconut Unveils Bold Global Growth and Product Expansion

Thai Coconut Public Company Limited (“COCOCO”) has announced its ambitious plan to become a global leader in beverage innovation. The company aims to drive sustainable growth through strategic product portfolio expansion and a stronger presence in high-growth markets. The company will leverage the strength of natural ingredients from Thai coconuts to meet the needs of OEM customers and health-conscious consumers.

Citrus News 🍊

Egypt: Juhayna signs $38mln loan with CIB to finance citrus production line

Juhayna Food Industries has signed a medium-term loan agreement with Commercial International Bank (CIB) worth $31.6 million and EGP 255 million, with a combined value equivalent to approximately EGP 1.9 billion, as per a disclosure.

The loan will finance the purchase of a new citrus production line, in line with Juhayna’s plans to expand its concentrate business.

Belize Citrus industry begins promising comeback

Jose Mai, Minister of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise, reported signs of recovery in Belize’s struggling citrus industry on Wednesday, May 28, during the 2025 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives at Independence Hill in Belmopan. He stated that export earnings from orange concentrate increased from $24.6 million in 2023 to $33.5 million in 2024, with total citrus-related exports reaching $38.5 million.

The Australia-Japan Citrus Partnership

Australia’s Hort Innovation recently provided an update on the citrus partnership between Japan and Australia.

Australia is the No. 1 citrus import partner for Japan, holding a 27% market share. This figure has grown steadily since 2021 (20%).

The partnership between Australia and Japan is highly complementary and counter-seasonal, allowing both countries to support each other’s markets effectively.

RSA Citrus farmers: We are going nowhere

Chamber CEO Denise van Huyssteen set the tone with a keynote address outlining the metro’s precarious financial position while also noting the success the chamber had achieved as a result of lobbying. “South African farmers are going nowhere. We believe in the country and its people.”

This statement from Hannes de Waal, the CEO of the Sundays River Citrus Company regarding farmers supposedly moving to the US as refugees, drew loud applause at the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber AGM on Wednesday evening.

Research Worth Reading 🔬

Synthesis and characterization of Ag-ZnO using citrus reticulata peel extract

To minimize the use of fossils fuels, solar cells have been considered to be effective despite facing major setbacks such as its cost and effectiveness. In this research Ag-ZnO was synthesized using Citrus reticulata as capping agents to be used as photoanoade in solar cell so that it can improve effectiveness of solar cell. Pure and Ag-ZnO were synthesized using chemical precipitation method with Citrus reticulata peel extract as a capping agent.