-March 9,2023-
The March 2022-23 Valencia orange forecast is 16.2 million cartons, down about a million cartons from last year.Growers have pulled about 1000 acres year over year.
The season experienced scattered precipitation in some areas which caused a rainy start to the growing season. Survey data indicated an average fruit set per tree of 616, a 13.9% increase from the previous year and 12.2% above the five-year average of 549. The average March 1 diameter was 2.391 inches, down 2.8% from the previous year and 5.1% below the five-year average of 2.520.
Valencia orange production statistics show a general decline over the past seven years with over 22 million cartons produced in 2015/16. The decline is based on lower acreage of this juicy orange – down 5000 acres since 2016 to 25,000 acres in the state. There were 40,000 bearing acres in 2012.
The reduction in the availability of this fresh dose of Vitamin C comes as Florida’s juice orange supply has been collapsing, providing an opportunity for California growers to reverse course and perhaps do some new plantings of this flavor filled orange variety.