California citrus is the last guy standing- led by Tulare County
The latest USDA forecast of citrus production in Florida predicts the 24/25 orange season will result in the harvest of only 12 million boxes for all types of oranges. Florida produced over 44 million boxes in the 22/23 season. But the most recent hurricanes have hastened what you can reasonably call the collapse of the Florida industry that once produced over 300 million boxes of the tangy fruit.
The 12 million box projection would be the lowest volume of Florida oranges sent to market since the 1930s.
This 2018 USDA chart shows the rapid decline in production in Florida starting in 2009 as citrus greening disease started to take hold.
Florida not only has periodic freezes and regular and increasingly powerful hurricanes to deal with, but now has a rampant spread of citrus greening bacterial disease that has devastated the state’s citrus groves.
By contrast, California citrus regions, while having to deal with occasional freezes, have not suffered massive kill off of trees in the Central Valley nor hurricanes and has yet to suffer any infection from citrus greening infections.
USDA now says California is expected to produce just under 50 million boxes of all types of oranges this year, including Valencia and navel varieties. California also has a large volume of tangerines and lemons, which Florida does not enjoy.
California is forecast to produce 25 million boxes of tangerines and 26 million boxes of lemons this season.
Added to the oranges, California is now producing over 100 million boxes of citrus while rival Florida is down to about 13 million boxes of all types.
California is clearly the last major US citrus producing state with tiny volumes of all types coming from Florida, Texas, and Arizona. Tulare County is now the US largest citrus producing county added to its status as the number one milk producer in the US.
Tulare County is now the US largest citrus producing county added to its status as the number one milk producer in the US.
California’s Mediterranean climate stands in contrast to the tropical weather found in Florida leading to more destructive storms and insect pressure compared to the Golden State.
Floodwaters from Hurricanes Helene and Milton may have accelerated the spread of invasive wildlife and plant species into new areas of Florida and Georgia, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed this past week in a news release.
Foreign imports of citrus and particularly orange juice far outpaces US production led by Brazil,now forecast at 378 million 90-pound boxes.
The latest USDA numbers were published December 10 after two high intensity hurricanes fueled by the superheated waters of the Caribbean pounded Florida.
Caption: USDA chart from 2018