With Florida's grapefruit growers contending with the effects of citrus greening, their season will likely be cut short. That absence of product on the market will, in turn, open opportunities for shippers from California and Mexico.“We're quickly coming to the end of the grapefruit deal,” said Seald Sweet's David Brocksmith. “So the season's going to end a little early.” He estimated that growers in the state's interior region will finish by the end of this month while those in the Indian River region will likely wrap up in the first week of April. If that prediction holds true, that would mean the season will end about a month earlier than it has in previous years.
“I'd say Florida will be done with grapefruit by the last week of April,” said Brocksmith. “Very few growers will get to April, and just a few will make it to the end of the month.” He cited citrus greening as a reason for the early end to the season. With the disease causing problems in the state's citrus orchards, packers have had a hard time getting enough fruit that's of sufficient quality to make it to consumers. Growers have had to run a lot of fruit to fulfill domestic orders that make the grade. With the early end to the season, that will likely make for gaps in the market.
“Florida ships grapefruit to Japan and Western Europe, and in the next few months, you'll see fruit from South Africa, Israel and Turkey,” said Brocksmith. Domestically, shippers from California and Mexico, who typically wait for the end of the Florida and Texas seasons to wrap up before they start moving large volumes of fruit, will benefit from Florida's early departure this season.
“Florida and Texas have better grapefruit, so those states dominate when they have fruit, but when we shut down, everyone goes to fruit from California and Sonora, Mexico,” said Brocksmith. “Florida has had the smallest crop in 25 years, which is due to quality issues from citrus greening.”
For more information:
David Brocksmith
Seald Sweet International
+1 772 569 2244