University of Florida (UF) Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) economists have estimated that the Oriental fruit fly outbreak last year caused at least US$4.1m in direct crop damages in Miami-Dade County, although the damage 'could have been far worse'.
In the new report, UF/IFAS researchers and the chief economist for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, compiled three scenarios for crop losses: optimistic, mid-range and pessimistic. So, although the optimistic scenario reports direct crop damage at US$4.1m, the pessimistic one shows that the loss could have been US$23m.
Edward 'Gilly' Evans, a UF/IFAS professor of food and resource economics, said the US$4.1m loss that he and his colleagues estimated was a conservative one and does not reflect the full economic impact on the economy. In addition to these costs, approximately US$1.5m was spent by state and local agencies in a joint effort to control the outbreak.
The direct crop losses came as a result of the quarantine protocol and a potential non-planting response by growers in Miami-Dade County.
However, UF/IFAS faculty credited quick, decisive actions by FDACS, UF/IFAS and the US Department of Agriculture for limiting the reach of the fruit fly. Among other things, the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center provided logistics, acting as the hub for the entire operation, Evans said.
“Although there was certainly a cost to growers in the regulated area, all of Florida agriculture would have been negatively impacted if the pest had expanded its reach,” said Amanda Hodges, associate extension scientist in the UF/IFAS entomology department. “Other states and countries would have stopped outgoing shipments of Florida’s agricultural products. At the very least, this pest would have cost millions if not billions of dollars if it had made a home here.
“Although many insects and diseases will not result in an eradication programme, fruit flies generally will,” said Hodges, director of the UF/IFAS doctor of plant medicine programme. “In fact, the state of Florida and the USDA have personnel who monitor fruit flies throughout the year. The state of Florida and USDA are the lead agencies for eradication programs in Florida, and fruit fly eradication efforts here are among the most successful in the world.”
In addition to the crop loss, the new UF/IFAS report says the fruit fly outbreak caused between US$10.7m and US$58.5m in overall economic losses.
