Florida has held up relatively well in the aftermath of widespread frosts that struck the state's citrus production in January this year, with the latest United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimate pegging the total orange crop at 131m boxes.
This marks an increase of 2m boxes on February's forecast, with the rise coming in early and mid-season varieties in particular, while the grapefruit forecast remained steady at 18.8m boxes.
Florida's specialty citrus crops, including tangelos and tangerines, remained stable at 900,000 boxes and 4m boxes respectively.
'This estimate is evidence that Florida citrus came through the 'freeze that would never end' in better shape than we first thought,' said Michael Sparks, executive vice-president and CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual. 'It was a tough patch but one can't underestimate the resiliency of our industry.'
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