Citrus production in Florida is expected to be at the same levels in 2019-2020 as it was in 2018-2019.
Steady citrus production in Florida means steady citrus production in the U.S. In 2018-2019, the citrus crop value was $3.35 billion.
The Florida citrus industry remains vulnerable to numerous threats, however. Those include Huanglongbing (HLB), which has negatively impacted the industry since 2005 by impeding citrus trees’ ability to get nutrients.
HLB is now present in California, Arizona and Texas as well but is the worst in Florida, which has gone from producing 80 percent of the nation’s non-tangerine citrus fruit to less than 42 percent.