The citrus sector in Florida is still suffering as the prediction for the almost over-growing season fell further lower on Friday. The most recent output estimate from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was 5.6 percent lower than estimates made in April. A prominent producer warned investors that its groves could require at least one more season to recover from Hurricane Ian in 2022, and a decades-old citrus association closed its doors this week.
The most recent output expectation is 12.2 percent less than estimates made at the start of the season last summer. The citrus sector of Florida is still suffering as the prediction for the almost over-growing season fell further lower on Friday.
The most recent output estimate from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was 5.6 percent lower than estimates made in April. A prominent farmer warned investors that its groves may require at least one more season to recover from Hurricane Ian in 2022, and a decades-old citrus association closed its doors this week.
The most recent production estimate falls short of expectations made at the start of the season last summer by 12.2 percent. Executive vice president and CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, Matt Joyner, voiced hope in a prepared statement that “growers continue to see gradual, promising signs of recovery in their groves” from Hurricane Ian and citrus greening, a disease that has afflicted the industry for the past 20 years.
However, the revised projection followed a Monday announcement by the Gulf Citrus Growers Association that it would be closing its doors as of next week.
“This was not done without doing due diligence!” Wayne Simmons, President of the association wrote. “Despite our staff and leadership’s efforts to keep the association effective and financially viable, the board felt it necessary to take this unfortunate but necessary action just as the devastating citrus greening bacterial disease has brought unprecedented financial challenges to your operation.” Since 1985, the association has represented growers in the counties of Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Lee.
“Hopefully, in the future as our industry recovers from the financial challenges inflicted by HLB (an acronym for huanglongbing, the formal name for citrus greening), and/or a cure for the disease is found, the Gulf Citrus Growers Association will stand ready to once again be the voice of the Gulf citrus growers here in Southwest Florida,” Simmons said.
This year, the association is only the second to close. In February, the board of directors of the Arcadia-based Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association decided to dissolve the organization after little more than 30 years, citing in a letter “the continued decline in citrus production, market fluctuations, and other factors”
The revised estimate indicates that growers will produce 1.8 million boxes of grapefruit and 17.8 million industry-standard 90-pound boxes of oranges this season. That is 2 million fewer cartons of oranges than in March and 1 million less than the April prediction. Production of grapefruit is expected to be 200,000 boxes less than predicted in April.
Less than two months remain in this season, and overall productivity is still somewhat higher than the harvest of 2022–2023—the lowest in 93 years. Alico is also selling 780 acres of “underperforming” citrus orchards for $7 million, even though the business claims it “will continue to conduct our regular citrus operations at nearly all of our groves for years to come.”
An option for 680 more acres at the same $9,000 per acre price is part of the agreement. Alico said, “This new transaction… illustrates our strategy of monetizing underperforming citrus groves on a case-by-case basis to redeploy capital to generate better returns for our shareholders.”
The article claimed that although Alico intends to grow citrus on the extra 680 acres next season, the sale is anticipated to close by the end of July.
This year, citrus growers plan to fill 20.1 million cartons. In 2021–2022 the whole harvest was 42.28 million boxes; in 2022–2023 it was 18.14 million boxes. Specialty crop forecasts, mostly for tangelos and tangerines, were held at 500,000 boxes, up from 480,000 boxes the previous season. In 2021–2022 specialty crops accounted for 750,000 cartons.