Florida is expecting to produce 88 per cent more grapefruit this year, with experts claiming the crop as evidence the state's grapefruit industry is recovering from the hurricanes of 2004.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's crop estimate, Florida will produce 24 million boxes of grapefruit and quality is being reported as excellent.

Dan Gunter, executive director of the Florida Department of Citrus, said: “While supply is not yet back to what we saw two years ago, the size of the crop is much improved from last year, and that's an important indication of the resilience of our industry.”

In addition to the grapefruit crop, the USDA expects the industry to produce 190m boxes of oranges and 8.3m boxes of specialty fruit, significantly up on last season.

Mike Yetter, FDOC’s director of international marketing, said: “We are encouraged by the USDA's grapefruit estimate. This is good news for our international markets.

“Besides its extraordinary good flavour, Florida grapefruit is packed with vitamin C and other important nutrients, and it ranks very well on the glycemic index. It continues to be an outstanding value for consumers.”

However, while the industry is recovering from the hurricanes of last year, citrus canker continues to bite, with around five million trees destroyed to date.

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