California Citrus Season Starts Early

From The Packer …

Suppliers forecast larger fruit sizes and steady retail volumes as the California citrus season opens two to three weeks ahead of schedule.

 Driven by surging consumer interest, cara cara oranges remain the fastest-growing item for Kings River Packing Co., which markets nearly a third of all California cara caras. Yeary expects continued year-over-year growth as harvesting gets underway.

Driven by surging consumer interest, cara cara oranges remain the fastest-growing item for Kings River Packing Co., which markets nearly a third of all California cara caras. The company expects continued year-over-year growth as harvesting gets underway.(Photo courtesy of Kings River Packing Co.)
The California citrus season began two to three weeks ahead of 2025, says Joel Yeary, commodity director for Kings River Packing Co. This early start led to an aggressive opening fob, he adds.

“While a lingering volume of import fruit in the marketplace has caused a slightly slower initial start to our domestic movement, we are confident that momentum will accelerate rapidly as we transition into November and import volumes clear out,” he says.