Though the red valencia orange season in Florida is expected to stretch out through May, promotable volumes of the fruit are expected to last until April.
The majority of the Florida orange crop is destined for juicing, and only about 8% goes to the fresh market. As a result, the processing market typically has a strong effect on prices for fresh market oranges.
“The processing market usually dictates the price floor,” says Kevin Swords of DNE Fruit Sales, “and it's been a little up from previous years.”
He notes that the most prevalent sizes are 64s, 80s and 100s, with the smaller sizes, like 100s and 125s, mostly sought for juicing.