From Tommy Leighton in California

As Florida's citrus industry begins to assess the long-term effects of damage from four devastating hurricanes in six weeks, grower and exporter Seald Sweet's president Bruce McEvoy said there is an "utter determination to recover" throughout the state's growing fraternity.

Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne have wreaked a trail of unprecedented destruction through Florida, and the citrus industry is already aware of $2 billion of damage. The state as a whole is counting the cost to the tune of around $25bn. Both figures are still climbing.

The damage inflicted upon Florida's houses, offices and its citrus plantations and packhouses will remain "engrained on the minds of Floridians for a very long time", said McEvoy at the PMA Fresh Summit, in Anaheim, California.

He recounted a visit to one of the Seald Sweet growers, where 90 per cent of the crop was lying under the tree and not one single grapefruit had been picked. "That was before Hurricane Jeanne," he said.

Packhouses had their rooves ripped clean off with a chef's precision, said McEvoy and the wind and water damage was as extensive as anything experienced in living memory. "Through the stress and tireless efforts to rebuild, every grower is saying 'that's agriculture'. There is utter determination that they will recover from this setback and they will be stronger for it," he said.

McEvoy called on retailers in the US to stay with Florida's growers during these difficult times and support what is left of the 2004 Florida citrus crop with in-store "hurricane relief promotions".

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