USDA rates orange output down 12%, tangerines down 24%

With both Florida and California orange output down by double-digit percentages, the total U.S. orange crop is forecast to be off 12% in 2021-22.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s first crop production estimate put the U.S. all-orange forecast for the 2021-22 season at 91.05 million boxes, down 12% from 103.95 million boxes last season.

The USDA said the Florida all-orange forecast, at 47 million boxes, is down 11% from last season.

Early, midseason and navel varieties in Florida are forecast at 19 million boxes, down 16% from a year ago.

The Florida valencia orange forecast, at 28 million boxes, is off 7% from last season’s final utilization, the USDA said.

“We hoped for more, but 47 million boxes of oranges demonstrates the resilience, ingenuity, and strength of Florida’s citrus growers and their unwavering commitment to fighting the challenges facing our industry,” Shannon Shepp, executive director of the Florida Department of Citrus, said in a news release.

“With more than 90% of Florida’s orange crop being squeezed for juice, nearly every drop of this season’s fruit will go straight to the premium, great-tasting not-from-concentrate orange juice consumers want.”

In California, the all-orange forecast is 43.5 million boxes, 13% lower than a year ago. California’s navel orange forecast is 35 million boxes, down 14% from last season. Valenica output in 2021-22 is forecast at 8.50 million boxes, down 11% from the previous year.

The Texas all-orange forecast was for 550,000 boxes for 2021-22, down 48% from a year ago.

Other citrus

The U.S. tangerine and mandarin crop is forecast 24% lower than last season, according to the USDA.

The California tangerine and mandarin forecast for 2021-22, at 21 million boxes, is down 25% from last season.

Florida’s tangerine and mandarin forecast, at 900,000 boxes, is up 1% from last year. Grapefruit output in the 2021-22 season is forecast 4% higher than last season, the USDA said.

The Texas forecast, at 3.10 million boxes, is up 29% from the 2020-21 season, the USDA said. The Florida forecast, at 3.80 million boxes, is down 7% from last season.

The California grapefruit forecast, at 3.90 million boxes, is unchanged from a year ago.

The lemon forecast for 2021-22 lemon crop is pegged 1% higher than a year ago, the USDA said. The California forecast, at 21 million boxes, is down 1% from the 2020-21 season. The Arizona forecast was pegged at 1.30 million boxes, up 63% compared with last season.