Florida orange crop 2014-2015 estimate holds steady

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Tuesday said its estimate of the 2014-2015 Florida orange crop remained the same at 103 million boxes. The USDA held early-mid and Valencia orange varieties at 48 million and 55 million boxes respectively.

"We still have a few months left in the season but it is good to see the estimate stabilize a bit, especially in this challenging environment," said Michael W. Sparks, executive VP/CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual. "Of course the quality of Florida citrus continues to be second to none."

"We are so appreciative of the USDA's announcement yesterday to fund $30 million worth of additional citrus research. I would like to extend a "thank you" from our entire industry to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for all that he's doing to make sure our industry continues to produce healthy citrus products while serving as a strong economic engine to the state of Florida."

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 decreased to 3.2 million boxes with tangelos accounting for the entire 100,000 box drop. The yield for frozen concentrate orange juice (FCOJ) dropped to 1.57 gallons per 90-pound box.

For more information:
Andrew Meadows
Citrus Mutual
Tel: +1 (863) 682-1111
Email: andrewm@flcitrusmutual.com
www.flcitrusmutual.com