Florida growers and shippers are pretty excited about this year's citrus crop. "We're seeing fruit color and maturity that we haven't seen in a number of years," says Doug Feek of Feek Family Citrus. "The fruit quality has been excellent, the size has been better, the Brix levels on juice oranges have been up above 10.5, and the external and internal quality have both been up. Our product has really turned a corner."
© Feek Family Citrus
Navels are also seeing high Brix at about 10.25-10.50 Brix–up from Navels last year, many of which were picking with 9.5 Brix.
This follows a few challenging seasons for Florida–notably, last year Hurricane Milton impacted the 2024-2025 crop. "This year it was pretty wet coming into season–there was a bit too much rain in September and early October," says Feek. "Otherwise, overall the weather conditions have been good for the crop and we're benefitting from that now."
Indeed, the crop is also up in size. "On oranges, what we have picked so far has been close to 35 to 50 percent above last year," he says, noting that grapefruit volume is also seeing an estimated 25 percent increase in volume and tangerines are also up 10-25 percent this season from Florida–a significant jump following last year's hurricane-challenged season.
Packing fresh and juice fruit
The Florida crop is getting underway just as the juice plants are opening at the end of the month to get their season started, though Feek Family Citrus is also packing for fresh shipments as well.
© Feek Family Citrus
As for demand, it's average. "We're seeing more and more imports in the market and that's squeezing California a little bit. That means we're being squeezed as well," he says, noting that juice prices are down this season though that's leaving more flexibility in oranges on pricing. He does expect demand to pick up though. "As people taste this quality and drink Florida juice, I think that will help demand."
Looking ahead, Feek is optimistic that this kind of crop will continue to come out of the state. "Everything I see makes me believe that we're going to continue to have better years ahead," he says.
For more information:
Doug Feek
Feek Family Citrus
Tel: +1 (772) 473-3885
[email protected]
https://feekfamilycitrus.com/
