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Florida orange harvest sees worst season since before World War II
Andrew Wulfeck – July 13, 2023
MIAMI – Growers of the official fruit of the Sunshine State are continuing to struggle with orange production, which has reached its lowest levels since before World War II.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture held a teleconference on Wednesday when it announced the final 2022-23 season forecast of 15.85 million boxes of oranges, levels not seen since harvests in the 1930s.
The figure was in line with previous expectations and, like many other fruits, saw a significant drop in production from levels reported just one year ago.
During the 2021-22 season, over 41 million boxes were harvested, which was just a fraction of amounts produced during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
According to the USDA, orange production peaked in 1998 at 240 million boxes but saw a significant decline after the historic 2004 hurricane season.
Harvesters have blamed weather disasters and citrus greening in recent years for the reduction in fruit production.
Citrus growers previously described the setbacks as “unprecedented” and told FOX Business that they were just trying to survive for a better day.
A report from the University of Florida’s Economic Impact Analysis Program estimated agriculture losses from 2022’s Hurricane Ian at around $1 billion.
The figure was on top of Hurricane Irma’s $2.5 billion in damage in 2017 and several billion dollars done by hurricanes in 2004.
FLORIDA SUFFERS $1 BILLION HIT TO AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY FROM HURRICANE IAN
In addition to weather disasters, citrus greening from an Asian bug discovered in the Lower 48 back in 1998 has been rampant.
According to university experts, once a tree becomes infected, its nutrient flow will slow and eventually impair its ability to produce fruit.
There is no known cure for citrus greening, meaning that a plant with the disease will deteriorate until it dies.
Trees producing grapefruits, lemons, tangerines, tangelos and other fruits are also susceptible to the disease.
According to USDA estimates, harvesters produced around 45% fewer boxes of grapefruit than last season and tangerines and tangelos saw a decline of around 36%.
Most major citrus operations have reached the end of the harvest season and won’t start up in earnest again until the fall and winter.