-February 24,2021-
Central Valley navel orange growers are enjoying a better year as of mid-February. Prices per carton are up $4 to 5 compared to 2020 according to figures from California Citrus Mutual. The uptick amounts to a 25% increase depending on size.
Not that everything is rosy says CCM.”Nonetheless, COVID-19 related issues such as the on-going problems at the ports with container availability and shipping delays continue to challenge packinghouses. Another problem plaguing the season is the lack of exports to China. Committee members reported that they did not get the pull that they normally see and attributes this to several factors – COVID-19, a large domestic crop and the influx of Egyptian citrus in the market. On the bright side, exports to Japan and South Korea are being reported as excellent with “demand exceeding supply.”