Another Pucker In Florida Orange Crop Prediction
March 10, 2015 The updated 2014-2015 Florida citrus crop estimate from USDA reveals February’s cold snaps might not have made as much of an impact on the production outlook as some might have feared, but the trend is still pointing downward.
The forecast for overall orange production dropped 1% from last month to 102 million boxes. The updated figure is down 6 million boxes from USDA’s initial estimate and 2% less than last season’s final production tally.
Loading ...Early, midseason, Navel, and Temple varieties fell from 48 million boxes to 47 million boxes. And though the forecast for Valencia production remains at 55 million boxes, limited harvest has begun as of this posting. Projected fruit size is below minimum, requiring 245 pieces of fruit to fill a 90 pound box. Projected fruit drop is well above average at 28%.
Florida grapefruit production outlook remains at 15 million boxes.
The projection for frozen concentrated orange juice was lowered from 1.57 to 1.55 gallons per box.
Click here to see the complete USDA report.
The next update from USDA is scheduled for April 9.
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