Florida Citrus Season Grinding Toward Sour Finish

If you thought this season’s Florida orange production projection had hit bottom following last month’s jaw-dropping estimate of 96.4 million boxes, you might be right. The latest numbers from USDA show no change.

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Has the 2014-2015 Florida orange crop estimate finally hit bottom?

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While holding steady is better than another reduction, the current 96.4 million box tally still represents what would be the lowest harvest total since the 1965-1966 season.

The June orange estimate comprises 47.4 million boxes of early, midseason, Navel, and Temple varieties plus 49 million boxes of Valencias.

In slight contrast, the overall grapefruit estimate increased 50,000 boxes to 12.95 million boxes.

“While the citrus forecast remains unchanged from the May announcement, which was the lowest in decades, we will continue to fight to save Florida’s signature crop, its more than $10.7 billion economic impact and the more than 64,000 jobs it supports,” said Adam Putnam, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture.

Click here to see the entire forecast in detail.

The final 2014-2015 report from USDA is scheduled for July 10.

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