For the third consecutive month, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has raised its estimate for the 2015/16 Florida orange crop, now predicting growers will produce 81.1m boxes – a 7 per cent increase.
A 5m-box rise in Valencias to 45m accounted for most of the jump, the USDA said, while Early and Mid-Season varieties, which have been harvested already, increased slightly to 36.1m boxes.
'Well, we continue to face many challenges as an industry, but the fact the estimate keeps increasing is a silver lining,' said Michael Sparks, executive vice-president and CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual. 'We still have a robust industry and Florida growers continue to produce the best citrus in the world.
'With our season winding down we will start to turn our attention to next year's crop,' he added.
The USDA's estimate for the 2015/16 Florida grapefruit crop rose to 10.85m boxes, while specialty citrus increased a fraction to 1.81m boxes.
“Today’s forecast brings a little more sunshine to our sunshine state,” said Shannon Shepp, executive director of the Florida Department of Citrus. “We are glad to see the numbers go up for our growers who continue to produce high-quality, premium citrus in the face of one of the toughest challenges to hit our industry. We remain dedicated to supporting their hard work and educating consumers on the great taste, nutritional benefits and safety of Florida Citrus.”
