With Florida citrus growers and packers finishing off the last of their grapefruit production and ramping up Valencia orange volumes, it's expected that volumes of Valencia oranges and volumes of tangerines will be lower this year.
The US Department of Agriculture estimates that Florida citrus production will be down for some varieties. While grapefruit and non-Valencia orange production is forecast to remain the same as it was last season, production for Valencia oranges is expected to be down one percent from last year, and volumes of tangerines are expected to be five percent less than last year's production. Those estimates of a slightly smaller citrus crop don't surprise Sam Jones, senior manager for Duda's domestic citrus program.
“The excessive Valencia fruit drop I have personally observed while traveling around different citrus-producing counties appears to be directly related to citrus greening,” he said. “At this point, we can't say or predict what subsequent years might look like.” The weather has also affected this year's season, and Jones noted that warm days followed by near-freezing nights kept growers on their toes, but growers were able to deal with the weather without it affecting fruit quality.
“Overall, the weather played a part in the early part of the season,” said Florida Classic Growers' Al Finch. “It was warm in December and January, and then it was cool in March, it hasn't had any real effect now.”
The State's growers have wrapped up grapefruit volumes and are now shipping Valencia oranges. Most growers should have volumes of Valencia oranges into July.
