Latest News From Citrus

Producers are one step closer to a new guest worker program designed to get more agricultural labor help to operations.  The Ag. Guest Worker Bill barely clearing the House Judiciary committee by a vote of 17 to 16 on Wednesday. The bill is designed to replace the current H2A program. 

Another round of lemon harvest will begin soon in southern California.

Satsuma mandarins have returned to Fowler, Calif.-based Bee Sweet Citrus.

NEW ORLEANS — Flexing its brand muscle, Sun Pacific is gearing up for big volume of Cuties brand mandarins in November and the company’s surging Mighties kiwifruit also coming into seasonal availability.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) has requested another $3 billion in aid for farmers for damage by hurricanes Irma, Harvey and Maria.

Check out the news from companies featured in The Packer's California/Arizona Citrus shipping profile.

Cara caras, blood oranges and other specialty citrus varieties are generating bigger followings each year, grower-shippers in California say.

Delano, Calif.-based Wonderful Citrus says it has taken a giant step forward with its recent acquisition of a major Florida grower-shipper.

Fowler, Calif.-based Bee Sweet Citrus is gearing up for the upcoming holidays with healthy citrus-themed recipes.

As with other citrus production this year, mandarin volume out of California is expected to be down, growers say. But the category continues to explode in sales, often at the expense of navel oranges.

Sunkist Growers will feature its Delite mandarins and other citrus offerings at its Fresh Summit booth Oct. 20-21.

Mulholland Citrus, an Orange Cove, Calif.-based citrus grower shipper of primarily mandarins, is joining the Sunkist Growers Inc. cooperative.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will be hosting disaster assistance and hurricane recovery workshops in Florida over the next few weeks.

Sunkist citrus volume will increase this season, with a member of the cooperative acquiring another shipper.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a natural disaster declaration for 19 Florida counties, acknowledging widespread damage by Hurricane Irma.

While some have objected to the accuracy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s citrus crop forecast, the USDA said Oct. 13 that its estimate “does not directly” forecast the impact of Hurricane Irma.

California’s citrus industry is about to step up the fight against its major threat: huanglongbing, also known as citrus greening disease.

Florida Orange Crop Seen Plunging to 71-Year Low After Irma

The latest crop estimate by the U.S. Department of Agriculture paints a rosier picture for Florida citrus than many believe is warranted in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

Reedley, Calif.-based Mountain View Fruit Sales has entered the California citrus deal.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam will be in Washington D.C. to talk about the recent hurricane damage to citrus.

Florida's Orange Crop at 76-Year Low Crushed by Hurricane Irma

California Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross will be the featured speaker at the California Citrus Conference.

Certified public accountant firm Baker Peterson Franklin has named Bee Sweet Citrus as the 2017 Baker Peterson Franklin Ag Business Award recipient.

More than 420,000 acres of citrus production were affected by the storm, according to a report by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

​​​​​​​Summer Citrus from South Africa’s summer season is coming to a close with the last two shipments arriving in the U.S. this month, along with its first shipment of the midknight variety.

After Hurricane Irma ripped through Southwest Florida, several citrus growers took The Packer through groves that were ravaged by the storm and described the challenges they now face and how they move forward.

Justin Parnagian and Leland Parnagian have been appointed as Fowler, Calif.-based Fowler Packing’s CEO and president, respectively.

Bee Sweet Citrus is preparing for its first time as a Fresh Summit exhibitor at the Produce Marketing Association’s Oct. 19-21 conference and expo in New Orleans.

Valencia, Calif.-based Sunkist Growers plans to kick off its California mandarin season in early November with increased volume, according to a news release.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been traveling the states hit the hardest by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Business updates on companies featured in The Packer's Summer Citrus section

Recent heavy rains have filled up reservoirs in the Coquimbo region of Chile, providing enough water for the next four citrus seasons.

Business updates on companies featured in The Packer's South African Citrus section.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture is conducting a referendum on continuing the Visalia, Calif.-based Citrus Research Board.

A panel of executives from four California citrus packinghouses drew a record crowd to the 2017 Citrus Showcase in Visalia, Calif.

Bee Sweet Citrus owners Jim and Michelle Marderosian have pledged $1.5 million to help fund a new plant pathology lab at the J.G. Boswell Agricultural Technology Center at Cal Poly's College of Agriculture, Food a

Valencia, Calif.-based Sunkist Growers has issued $1 billion in member payments for the third time in the company's history.

Recent heavy rainfalls notwithstanding, California citrus grower-shippers say their harvest is proceeding at a brisk pace.

California rains are delaying harvest of some strawberries and citrus, and is making vegetable planting problematic.

To gear audiences up for "Despicable Me 3," Dayka & Hackett LLC, Reedley, Calif., fruit grower, importer and shipper, is offering Minion-themed mandarins to grocery stores nationwide.

Florida's troubled citrus industry continues to trend downward, with orange production estimates slipping another million boxes in the past month, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture production

Snack It Forward has expanded its line of Sunkist fruit snacks with the creation of Sunkist trueFruit Clusters.

A rainy week in California has citrus growers there expecting some shortages in mid-February.

Fowler, Calif.-based Bee Sweet Citrus has a new logo.

Delano, Calif.-based Wonderful Citrus has acquired Fort Pierce, Fla.-based citrus marketer DNE World Fruit, citrus exporter DNE International and the assets of World Pack Cold Storage, a division of DNE Imports.

Florida growers receiving millions to fight the pest.

Read the latest updates from companies featured in The Packer Citrus Marketing profile.

Citrus acreage in Texas is expected to increase from 27,000 acres this year to as much as 30,000 acres by next year, despite challenges like citrus greening and the Mexican fruit fly, said Dale Murden, president of Missi

Pouch bags, gift boxes and traditional consumer packs are proving especially popular among citrus consumers, grower-shippers say.