Florida citrus

Florida’s 2007/08 orange crop finished at 169.7m cartons,according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) which hasreleased its final citrus report of the season. The crop represents a 32 per cent increase from the 2006/07 season.

“This was a pretty good rebound year for the Florida citrus industrycoming off the hurricanes,” said Michael Sparks, executive vice-president and chief executive officer of Florida Citrus Mutual. “Prices to growers werereasonable and that’s important. We need higher prices to offset theincreased production costs associated with pest and disease managementand energy prices.”

“The recent rains bode well for next season,” Mr Sparks continued.“However, the industry is facing many challenges right now, mostprominently a disease called citrus greening which has the potential todevastate our crop. We will continue to fight it through research andbest management practices as we head into next season.”

The 169.7m cartons are made up of 83.5m cartons of Early-Mids and Navels and 86.2m cartons of Valencias.

The Florida citrus industry saw a decline in orange production from230m cartons to 129m cartons during the five-year periodbetween the 2001/02 season and the 2006/07 season. This reductionwas due in large part to the effects of hurricanes, development andpests and diseases such as citrus canker and greening.

The USDA issues its initial estimate in October and then revises it each month through the end of the citrus season in July.

In the season's final report, Florida grapefruit increased from 26.5m cartons to 26.6m cartons. Tangelos remained unchanged at 1.5m cartons as did tangerines at 5.5m cartons.

The complete USDA crop forecast is available from the Florida Agriculture Statistics Service online - click here.