The US 2010/11 orange crop is forecast at 8.93m tonnes, down 1 per cent from the October 1 forecast but 9 per cent above the prior season, according to the USDA's December report.
Florida's orange yields are pegged at 143m cartons (6.44m tonnes), down 2 per cent on the October forecast, but 7 per cent above last year.
Early, mid-season and navel varieties in Florida are forecast at 68m cartons (3.06m tonnes), down 1 per cent from October and 1 per cent lower than 2009/10.
The Florida Valencia orange estimate, at 3.38m tonnes, is down 3 per cent from the previous forecast but up 15 per cent from the prior season.
Weather conditions in the citrus growing areas remain extremely dry, according to the report.
Fruit size for the non-Valencia oranges is projected to be the smallest in any non-disaster season, and drop rate is near the minimum and projected to be below average for the Valencia crop.
California and Texas forecasts are carried forward from October.
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