By Jim Turner ©2024 The News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE — Damage from Hurricane Milton is driving down citrus production from what was already expected to be a historic low in the current growing season, according to a federal report released Tuesday.
An updated forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Florida is projected to produce enough oranges to fill 12 million 90-pound boxes, 3 million less than expected before Milton. The industry produced 17.96 million boxes of oranges during the 2023-2024 season, which ended in July.
Similarly, the new forecast reduced expected production numbers for grapefruit and specialty crops, such as tangerines and tangelos. Milton swept across the heart of the citrus industry in October.
“It definitely had an effect,” U.S. Department of Agriculture State Statistician Mark Hudson said Tuesday in releasing the updated numbers.
The citrus industry, which has long struggled with deadly citrus greening disease, development pressures, foreign competition and damage from other hurricanes, faces the smallest harvest this season in more than a century.
Senate President Ben Albritton, a citrus grower from Wauchula, said he expected the new forecast to be “pretty dismal.” He said he will support the industry in the Legislature.
“Pretty much everybody that I spend time with back home grows something for a living, mostly citrus and cattle,” Albritton said Tuesday. “So, I believe in the industry, part of it’s in my DNA. Quite frankly, citrus is in the DNA of Florida. So, I fully intend … to support the industry as a whole.”
Albritton’s groves were severely affected by the storm, which made landfall Oct. 9 in Sarasota County before crossing the state. He said his crop for this season, which will run through June, has already been deemed lost to Hurricane Milton.
“We had several of our groves that were damaged so heavily that there is not enough fruit to harvest,” Albritton said.
A “total loss,” he added.
Matt Joyner, executive vice president and CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, pointed to a need for federal hurricane assistance for the industry.
“Despite the obstacles we face, Florida citrus growers are resilient and remain dedicated to sustaining Florida’s citrus industry. However, Florida’s citrus growers cannot sustain the industry alone,” Joyner said in a statement Tuesday.
Major citrus grower Alico, Inc., in a quarterly report issued last week, said it was not yet possible to “reliably” estimate its damage from Hurricane Milton.
“The company believes that our groves sustained minimal tree damage (from Milton); however, there was measurable fruit drop from trees in our northern groves, particularly in Polk and Hardee Counties,” Alico President and Chief Executive Officer John Kiernan said in the report.
The new forecast said Florida is expected to produce 1.2 million boxes of grapefruit during the 2024-2025 season, down 200,000 boxes from an initial forecast for the season and down from 1.79 million boxes during the 2023-2024 season.
Specialty crops are now projected at 350,000 boxes, 50,000 less boxes than when the season got underway. Specialty crops ended the 2023-2024 season at 450,000 boxes.
Florida Citrus Mutual said that the industry, at its peak, produced 244 million boxes of oranges during the 1997-1998 season.
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