According to the latest forecast by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the US Department of Agriculture, Florida orange and grapefruit production decreased since February.
TheMarch report projects a 3m box reduction in the state’s orange crop to 67m boxes, 2m of which comes from the early and mid-season varieties, which are now fully harvested.
The grapefruit crop was reduced by 100,000 to 8.9m boxes, the group revealed.
“While news of a decrease is never welcome, the sweet scent of citrus blossoms floating on the breeze brings back fond memories and reminds us that spring is a time of renewal,” said Shannon Shepp, executive director of the Florida Department of Citrus. “Growers are optimistic that the strategies they are implementing now will pay off in the future and that, as an industry, we will overcome.”
The FDOC, which is mostly funded by box taxes paid by the state’s citrus growers, serves as the chief marketing and promotion arm for the industry.
