Florida’s Citrus Industry Braces For Decline in Production: USDA
By Fox 35 // October 10, 2020
forecast a 15 percent decline in orange production
(FOX 35) – Florida’s signature citrus industry is facing another production squeeze, while growers might soon be asked to pay more to help market their products.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday forecast a 15 percent decline in orange production for the recently started growing season as compared to the last harvest. Grapefruit production is projected to be down 7 percent.
That translates, in part, to a projected 57 million 90-pound boxes of oranges during the new 2020-2021 season, down from 67.3 million boxes in 2019-2020.
If the projection holds, orange production would decline for the second straight year. But state leaders offered encouragement Friday about the industry, which has been hammered in recent years by factors such as a deadly bacterial disease.
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