Florida’s current orange crop is facing historically low numbers.
According to USDA ERS’s Catharine Weber, “Forecast for 2024-2025 marketing year is 522,000 tons, down 35% from last season. If realized, this Florida orange crop would be the smallest in 95 years.”
This is, of course, a huge concern for prices as Florida oranges have historically played a big role in meeting market demand.
“Florida oranges continue to play a major role in the U.S. orange juice industry, accounting for about 50% of oranges used in domestic production last season. Historically, Florida oranges have dominated the U.S. Florida orange juice industry, with Florida oranges accounting for around 90% of domestic orange juice production as recently as the 2016-2017 season.”
Weber says that with so few oranges in production this year, USDA ERS expects orange juice imports to rise higher this year than in years past.
