Many Florida citrus growers are skeptical of the proposed federal marketing order for orange juice (OJ). The proposed marketing order would allow all U.S. fruit used in OJ and all OJ imports to be assessed to share in the cost of marketing. This federal order, however, poses some potential drawbacks for Florida juice orange growers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will not allow ad messages to show a preference based on juice origin. Since all the players’ resources would be pooled together to generically market OJ, Florida OJ would not be allowed to stand out.
During the December Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association (PRVCGA) board of directors meeting, Dan Gunter, economist and former Florida Department of Citrus executive director, presented the latest research data to growers on the proposed marketing order.
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