In the Feb. 3 Florida Citrus Commission meeting, Marisa Zansler, Florida Department of Citrus director of economic and market research, provided an update on the Florida orange juice (OJ) movement and availability.
External trends, such as fruit drop and increased demand during the pandemic, may significantly impact the availability of orange juice throughout the season. Coming into the 2020–21 season, beginning inventory was down by 20 percent for frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) and 26 percent for not from concentrate (NFC) OJ. In terms of the processed orange crop utilization, single-strength orange juice (SSOJ), which is used primarily to make NFC, is up by 30 percent year over year. Utilization of the processed orange crop into FCOJ, on the other hand, was down by 52 percent by mid-January.
Currently, Florida processor NFC packaged movement, which represents about 96 percent of NFC OJ movement at present, is up by about 10.5 percent. NFC pack from Florida-sourced fruit currently outpaces NFC imports. However, it is important to note imports are up compared to last season, which is helping to maintain market share for processors. The total overall movement of FCOJ, on the other hand, is down by 4 percent, which is likely due to the decline in foodservice. At the same time, imports of concentrate are currently outpacing pack from Florida-sourced fruit and are up compared to last season.
When looking at total OJ movement trends for the season, an increase in
package movement is offsetting the decline in bulk movement, for now, which is most likely due to the decline in food service. Overall movement is currently up 2.5 percent so far this season for Florida processors.
There is currently an estimated surplus of …..
Learn more about the Update on Florida OJ Supply and Demand on the Citrus Industry website.