Florida’s orange production estimate was knocked down again in the USDA’s February report.
Reflecting an updated assessment of the hurricane-damaged crop, the Florida all-orange forecast, at 16 million boxes (720,000 tons) is down 11% from the previous forecast and down 61% from last season’s final utilization, the USDA said.
The USDA said the U.S. all-orange forecast for the 2022-23 season is 2.61 million tons, down 3% from the previous forecast and down 25% from the 2021-22 final utilization.
California’s 2022-23 all-orange crop is estimated to be 46.1 million boxes (1.844 million tons), or about three times the size of Florida’s orange crop. California’s all-orange output is up 15% from last season.
Florida’s early, midseason, and navel varieties are forecast in February at 6 million boxes (270,000 tons), down 14% from the previous forecast and down 67% from last season’s final utilization.
The Florida valencia orange forecast, at 10 million boxes (450,000 tons), is down 9% from the previous forecast and down 56% from last season’s final utilization.
Fresh market pricing
The USDA reported that the average shipping price for U.S. oranges (all origins) on Feb. 4 was $23.90 per carton, about the same as the $23.93 per carton in 2022 and 18% higher than $20.21 per carton in 2021.
The USDA estimated the U.S. 2022-23 grapefruit crop at 324,000 tons, unchanged from the previous forecast but down 13% from last season’s final utilization. The Florida forecast, at 1.50 million boxes (64,000 tons), is unchanged from the previous forecast but down 55% from last season. California and Texas grapefruit production forecasts were carried forward from the previous forecast, the USDA said.
The U.S. tangerine and mandarin crop is forecast at 904,000 tons, unchanged from the previous forecast but up 23% from the last season’s final utilization. The Florida tangerine and mandarin forecast, at 500,00 boxes (24,000 tons), is unchanged from the last forecast but down 33% from last year. The California tangerine and mandarin forecast was carried forward from the previous forecast, the USDA said.
