USDA Florida Orange Crop estimate decreased
The USDA now says Florida will produce 103 million boxes of oranges this season, down from the 108 million predicted in December. The USDA dropped early-mid orange varieties by 4 million boxes to 48 million while the Valencia forecast decreased 1 million boxes to 55 million.
"This decrease was about what we expected after what we've heard from the field over the past few weeks," said Michael W. Sparks, executive VP/CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual. "It's a tough environment out there as growers continue to battle citrus greening. Supply was already tight and it just got tighter."
The USDA makes its initial estimate in October of each year and revises it monthly as the crop takes shape until the end of the season in July.
During the 2013-2014 season, Florida produced 104 million boxes of oranges. Click here for the complete USDA estimate.
The USDA's estimate of the 2014-2015 Florida grapefruit crop stayed at 15 million boxes. Specialty citrus also held steady at 3.3 million boxes. The yield for frozen concentrate orange juice (FCOJ) dropped to 1.59 gallons per 90-pound box.
For more information, visit www.flcitrusmutual.com.