Orange Crush: How the 2022-2023 Florida Citrus Season Numbers Finished up
July 13, 2023 Coming off a fall that featured two hurricane landfalls within 45 days (one major), the 2022-2023 Florida citrus season was set for its uphill battle. After-effects from the storms, along with continued pressure from HLB, prompted USDA crop forecasters to aim low. As the season played out, the predictions were warranted. The final tallies are now in.
The July crop report from USDA shows all-orange production finishing at 15.9 million boxes (up 1% from the June estimate). The total breaks down as 6.15 million boxes of early, mid-season varieties, plus 9.7 million boxes of Valencias. The numbers reflect lows that haven’t been seen since pre-World War II.
The result also puts the Sunshine State further behind California as the nation’s leading citrus producer. According to USDA stats, the California citrus production estimate in July is at 44 million boxes. Keep in mind though, net pounds per box for California is 80. In Florida, it’s 90 pounds.
The previous season concluded for Florida growers with 41 million boxes of oranges produced, by the way.
Grapefruit output during the Florida 2022-2023 citrus season also wound up a far cry from days gone by. Final production finished at 1.81 million boxes. In the 2021-2022 season, grapefruit finished at a little more than 3 million boxes.
Do You Remember?
During the 1997-1998 season, 244 million boxes of oranges (a record high) were harvested in Florida. During the 1996-1997 season, 55.8 million boxes of grapefruit came to fruition.
The first official forecast of the 2023-2024 season is scheduled to release on Oct. 12.
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