Florida Citrus Growers Wrap up Tough Season, Look Ahead To Better Days
July 14, 2022 To some, the 2021-2022 Florida citrus season has probably felt like years. But now that the campaign has officially come to an end with the last crop report from USDA, it’s time to see how it all shook out.
NASS forecasters report all-orange output at 41 million boxes (18.3 million boxes of non-Valencia + 22.7 million boxes of Valencias). That tally is up 1% over last month’s report, but down from the season’s initial estimate (47 million boxes), and down quite considerably compared to last season’s output of 52.8 million boxes of oranges. As of this posting, forecasted numbers for July indicated California’s all-orange numbers at 49 million boxes.
Continued battles with HLB, fruit drop, and extreme weather swings have put stress on the crop in Florida as well as those who tend to the groves.
Last October, we asked readers what you thought about USDA’s original orange estimate of the 2021-2022 season. Results were:
- About what I expected: 46%
- Lower than expected: 43%
- Higher than expected: 11%
Grapefruit figures for 2021-2022 concluded at 3.33 million boxes, down from last season’s 4.10 million boxes and from USDA’s first outlook of 3.8 million boxes.
Despite the continued downward trend in production numbers, growers and industry stakeholders are resilient and holding on to the hope that a rebound is coming.
What do you think? Leave a comment below.
The first forecast for the 2022-2023 is scheduled for Oct. 12.
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