The newest citrus forecast update from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows its estimates for the 2022-23 season remain mostly the same, aside from a small uptick in projected grapefruit production. The agency forecasts Florida will put out 16.1 million boxes of oranges this season. That includes 10 million boxes of Valencia oranges and 6.1 million boxes of non-Valencia oranges.
Mark Hudson, principal statistician for the USDA, also said the agency predicts 500,000 boxes of tangerines and tangelos will come from Florida. All of those numbers remain unchanged from the last report released in March.
Estimated grapefruit production is up just over 6%, however. The USDA is now projecting 1.7 million boxes of grapefruit will be produced, including 1.52 million boxes of red grapefruit and 180,000 boxes of white grapefruit. That’s up slightly from the estimate of 1.6 million boxes in March. Projections for both red grapefruit (1.44 million boxes in March) and white grapefruit (160,000 boxes), were up in Tuesday’s report.
Click here to read the full report.
Source: floridapolitics.com