USDA Reports No Change in the 2008-2009 Florida Orange Crop
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CLICK HERE to go to the USDA Statistics website where all the citrus crop forecasts are stored, including the just released MAY update as soon as they get it posted. Meanwhile, here is Florida Citrus Mutual’s take on this month’s update: LAKELAND, Fla. (Citrus Mutual – May 12, 2009) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today released its May orange forecast for the 2008-2009 season showing no change to the 157.6 million box crop.
“As the season winds down, Florida has produced another quality citrus crop,” said Michael W. Sparks, executive VP/CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual. “Although citrus growers are facing a lot of challenges, mainly from a disease known as citrus greening, one thing consumers can count on is quality orange juice from Florida.”
The early and midseason orange crop remained unchanged with an estimate of 84.6 million boxes, while the Valencia projection remained at 73 million boxes this season.
The USDA reduced the Florida grapefruit projection by 500,000 boxes to 22.5 million for the 2008-2009 season. Colored grapefruit accounted for the full change with 15.5 million, down from the 16 million announced in April. White grapefruit showed no change at 7 million boxes.
Florida specialty fruit also saw a decrease. Tangelos dropped 50,000 to 1.15 million boxes and tangerines were down 100,000 to 3.9 million boxes. The yield for from-concentrate orange juice (FCOJ) is expected to average 1.65 gallons per 90-pound box, up from 1.64 gallons.
Visit www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Florida/Publications/Citrus/cpfp.htm for the complete USDA estimate. The USDA makes the initial forecast in October and then revises it monthly until the end of the season in July. In 2007-2008, Florida harvested 170.2 million boxes of oranges.
The Florida citrus industry creates a $9.3 billion annual economic impact, employing nearly 76,000 people, and covering more than 576,000 acres. Founded in 1948 and currently representing nearly 8,000 grower members, Florida Citrus Mutual is the state’s largest citrus grower organization. For more information, visit www.flcitrusmutual.com.
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