A report from the USDA has blamed freezing weather in December for a one per cent loss in Florida's citrus crop - equating to 2m boxes of fruit.
The report stated midseason citrus varieties in Florida were down by 1m boxes to 66m boxes, while the projection for Valencia oranges was also 1m boxes less, with the report predicting production of the variety at 72m boxes this season.
Florida Citrus Mutual spokesperson Andrew Meadows said the organisation didn’t know exactly what the total cost of the cold snap to the industry would be, calling the report a ‘February snapshot’, according to a report from business news agency Bloomberg.
Around 90 per cent of the state’s orange crop was used for juicing and figures outlining the amount of fruit used for this purpose would not be available until June, the news agency reported.
On a brighter note, tangerine production was up five per cent, according to the report, while grapefruit and tangelo production would remain unchanged.
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