Florida’s 2021/22 orange crop shrunk by 2% in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s December crop production forecast, compared with the October estimate.
The USDA’s Florida all orange forecast of 46 million boxes is off 2% from the previous forecast and down 13% from last season’s final utilization.
Florida’s early, midseason, and navel varieties are forecast at 18 million boxes, down 5% from the previous forecast and down 21% from last season’s final utilization. The Florida valencia orange forecast, at 28 million boxes is unchanged from the previous forecast but down 7% from last season’s final utilization.
The USDA left California and Texas orange production forecasts unchanged from the October forecast.
“(The) forecast underscores why support from leadership and policymakers is so important,” said Shannon Shepp, executive director of the Florida Department of Citrus in a news release. “This is an industry that continues to fight and remains a vital component of the state’s economy. We are grateful Gov. DeSantis recognizes this and has included support for the Florida citrus industry in his budget proposal.”
Forecast
The U.S. all orange forecast for the 2021-2022 season is 3.83 million tons, down 1% from the previous forecast and down 13% from the 2020-2021 final utilization.
December’s U.S. 2021/22 grapefruit crop forecast is 454,000 tons, up 3% from the previous forecast and up 7% from last season’s final utilization.
The Florida grapefruit forecast, 174,000 tons, is up 8% from previous forecast but unchanged from the last season. California and Texas grapefruit production forecasts were carried forward from the previous forecast.
The crop forecast for U.S. tangerine and mandarin crop is 883,000 tons, unchanged from the previous forecast but down 24% from the last season’s final utilization. The USDA said Florida tangerine and mandarin forecast, at 43,000 tons, is unchanged from the previous forecast but up 1% from last year. The California tangerine and mandarin forecast was carried forward from the previous forecast, the agency said.
