Florida's citrus growers could suffer financially as a result of the reduced demand for orange juice this season. “These declines in revenue are a result of declines in demand for OJ. When revenue declines, it can affect the entire industry, resulting in lower fruit and juice prices than there would be if revenues were increasing,” said Allen Morris, a veteran citrus industry economist, currently vice president of sales and marketing at Wm. G. Roe & Sons Inc., a Winter Haven family citrus business.
Here's a look at the latest orange juice sales statistics:
$143.7 million
The decline in revenue from retail U.S. orange juice sales through Aug. 6, according to the most recent sales report from the Florida Department of Citrus in Bartow.
Sales revenue declined 5.2 percent to $2.6 billion in the 2015-16 citrus season, which began in October, from $2.7 billion in the previous season. Revenue has fallen from $3.6 billion in the 2010-11 season, Citrus Department records show.
Juice processors buy 95 percent of Florida’s annual orange crop, so declining sales revenue in one season means less money in the following season to buy the new orange crop, Morris said.
“Ultimately, whatever revenue processors receive affects what they can pay for fruit,” agreed Tom Spreen, retired agricultural economist at the University of Florida and also a veteran industry economist.
6.4 percent
The decline in OJ gallon sales for the recent four-week period ending Aug. 6, the Citrus Department reported. Consumers bought 31.85 million gallons of 100 percent OJ products at major retail outlets during that period, compared to 34 million gallons a year earlier.
The sales decline came despite an 0.4 of a percent decline in the average OJ price during the recent period to $6.56 per gallon from $6.59 in a similar period a year ago.
For the 2015-16 season through Aug. 6, total gallon sales reached 398 million gallons, a 5.2 percent decline from nearly 420 million gallons sold through the same time in 2014-15.
