Florida’s orange production is projected to hit historic lows in 2023, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicting 18 million boxes to enter the retail market, the lowest orange supply to come out of the Sunshine State since 1937.
That’s an estimated 56% drop in Florida’s orange exports year-over-year, while peak orange production sits at 244 million boxes.
Similar story in Washington Post agrees peak Florida’s peak OJ production was 244 million boxes, but predicts it will drop this year only to 44.5 million.
(Fox mentioned a drop to 18.5 million)
224 million ----> 44.5 million
vs
224 million ----> 18.5 million
I’m not sure it matters much.
From WaPo:
Florida is the country’s largest producer of juice oranges, at its peak producing 244 million boxes of oranges annually. This year, the USDA predicts that will fall to only 44.5 million. Demand for orange juice had cooled in recent years as consumers became concerned about the amount of sugar in fruit juices.Jan 29, 2022
Orange juice prices are headed for the roof after Florida growers were slammed by a heavy hurricane season last year, an early freeze and a fast-spreading disease that’s strangling the life out of orange groves.
Retail prices recently hit a record $6.27 a gallon for reconstituted juice and $10 a gallon for squeezed, or not from concentrate, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
“It’s like liquid gold,” commodities analyst Judy Ganes told the Journal.