Modest Jump In Florida Orange Estimate
March 10, 2011 USDA released its March orange crop forecast for the 2010-2011 season, increasing its earlier estimate by 4 million boxes to 142 million boxes. The latest tally is up 3% from the February 1 forecast and 6% above last season’s final utilization.
“The late maturing crop and the freeze has complicated the forecasting,” said Michael W. Sparks, executive VP/CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual. “This should put us closer to the final season number but the crop estimate is an ongoing process.”
The entire increase is due to an uptick in early and midseason varieties which grew by 4 million to 70 million while the projection for Valencias remained at 72 million boxes this season.
For Florida specialty fruit, the USDA’s tangelo estimate increased by 100,000 boxes to 1.1 million boxes, while the tangerine forecast held steady at 4.4 million.
The USDA estimate for grapefruit remained unchanged at 19.6 million boxes.
The all variety yield for from frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) remained at 1.57 gallons per 90-pound box. The Valencia yield dropped to 1.62 from 1.64 per box. In related news, Tropicana reportedly says it will raise prices on some of its juices by 4% to 8% to cope with higher costs it is facing due to cold weather’s impact on citrus crops in Florida.
•ºClick here to view the complete USDA citrus production estimate.
USDA makes its initial forecast in October and then revises it monthly until the end of the season in July.
Source: Florida Citrus Mutual
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