USDA raises Florida orange estimate
The Florida 2020-21 orange crop grew by 3.7% in February’s U.S. Department of Agriculture crop production report.
The USDA increased its projected production of Florida oranges to 56 million boxes in the report, leaving its estimate for Florida grapefruit unchanged at 4.6 million boxes.
“Today’s forecast gives us reason to be cautiously optimistic as we proceed through the remainder of the season,” Shannon Shepp, executive director of the Florida Department of Citrus, said in a news release. “We are hopeful growers will be able to harvest as much of the valencia crop as possible with minimal drop in the months to come.”
In Florida, early, mid-season, and navel varieties are forecast at 22 million boxes, up 10% from the previous forecast but down 26% from last season’s final utilization. The USDA said the Florida valencia orange forecast, at 34 million boxes, is unchanged from the previous forecast but down 10% from last season’s final utilization. California and Texas orange production forecasts were carried forward from the previous forecast, the USDA.
On the Los Angeles terminal market, wholesale prices for California navel oranges were slightly higher than year-ago levels, with Feb. 9 prices of $30-32 per carton up slightly from $29-30 per carton last year.
