Alico, one of the largest citrus producers in Florida, plans to exit the citrus industry and diversify its Florida farming operations, according to a news release. The company cited increased financial challenges from citrus greening — or huanglongbing — and environmental factors for several seasons.
The company said its citrus production has declined by 73% in the past decade and cited the direct impact of hurricanes on trees already weakened from citrus greening.
“For over a century, Alico has been proud to be one of Florida’s leading citrus producers and a dedicated steward of its agricultural land, but we must now reluctantly adapt to changing environmental and economic realities,” Alico President and CEO John Kiernan said in the release. “Our citrus production has declined approximately 73% over the last 10 years, despite significant investments in land, trees and citrus disease treatments, and the current harvest will likely be lower in volume than the previous season. The impact of Hurricanes Irma in 2017, Ian in 2022 and Milton in 2024 on our trees, already weakened from years of citrus greening disease, has led Alico to conclude that growing citrus is no longer economically viable for us in Florida.”
The company said it would not spend more capital on its citrus operations following the 2025 harvest and would focus resources on creating new opportunities for profitable growth.
Alico, which owns approximately 53,371 acres throughout eight Florida counties, said it will maintain its commitment to the state’s agriculture industry through diversified farming operations on nearly all its land holdings following its citrus production transition.
The company said it will also entitle certain parcels of land for commercial and residential development and will improve its ability to provide investors with a greater return on capital.
“This difficult decision is expected to provide Alico with a more stable future while maintaining our deep roots in agriculture by meaningfully reducing our working capital requirements for annual citrus production, reducing financial volatility and allowing the company to focus on profitable noncitrus agricultural opportunities and entitlement work to achieve the [highest and best use] for all properties in our real estate portfolio,” Kiernan said.
Alico said it will wind down Alico Citrus’ primary operations, which includes cutting most of its citrus production workforce immediately. The company said a third party will manage 3,460 citrus acres through 2026.
“We’ve explored all available options to restore our citrus operations to profitability, but the long-term production trend and the cost needed to combat citrus greening disease no longer supports our expectations for a recovery,” Kiernan said. “Despite our collective efforts, Alico believes that this strategic decision is not only correct but essential. We remain committed to creating opportunities that will maintain our legacy of stewardship while also acting prudently on behalf of our shareholders, including working with local municipalities to develop plans that will benefit their Florida communities.”
