Barriers to implementing circular citrus supply chains: A systematic literature review

Citrus is one of the world's most popular and widely cultivated fruits. The processing of citrus fruits for juice extraction generates solid and liquid biowaste, a valuable bio-resource that can be utilized in various sectors, including food and non-food industries. Incorporating Circular Economy (CE) principles into the citrus supply chain offers numerous opportunities but also presents certain barriers. The existing literature lacks a comprehensive study that explicitly explores the obstacles hindering the implementation of citrus waste valorization. Therefore, this study adopts a systematic literature review approach to answer three research questions related to defining the valorization processes and pathways of citrus processing waste to achieve net-zero waste and to explore, classify, and analyze the barriers to the implementation of Circular Citrus Supply Chains (CCSC). One hundred twenty-eight distinct barriers have been identified and classified into seven categories: economic, regulatory, technological, informational, market-related, managerial, and logistical. The most significant categories for CCSC were technological, economic, and informational barriers. This study provides practitioners and academics with a comprehensive understanding of the valorization opportunities and the various challenges faced during the adoption of circular models within the citrus processing supply chain. The findings thus provide a platform for the development of more competitive and sustainable strategies for CCSC. Additionally, future work was proposed regarding stakeholder engagement, barriers investigation, valorization processes' technical and economic feasibility, the interrelationship between barriers, and the effect of integrating emerging technologies to advance the CCSC field further.