Florida citrus

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released its initial forecast for the 2014/15 campaign, pegging the orange crop at 108m boxes, up from last season's total of 104.4m.

Early-mid varieties accounted for 52m boxes, the report stated, while Valencias came in at 56m boxes.

'This is a positive number as the Florida citrus grower continues to battle citrus greening disease,' said Michael Sparks, executive vice-president and CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual. 'It's been a tight few years for production and 2014/15 is no different.

'Although there is a lot of uncertainty out there, one thing is certain - Florida will continue to produce the best citrus in the world,' he added.

The Association's estimate for the 2014/15 Florida grapefruit crop came in at 15m boxes, while specialty fruit is estimated at 3.7m boxes.

The USDA makes its initial estimate in October of each year and revises it monthly as the crop takes shape until the end of the season in July.