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| Horticultural & Tropical Products Division | Return to the H&TP Home Page |
U.S. Citrus Crop For 2003/04 Up 14 Percent From Previous Year The U.S. 2003/04 citrus crop is forecast at 15.75 million tons, up 14 percent. The orange crop is forecast at 12.4 million tons, an increase of 18 percent from the 2002/03 level, and very close to the record set in 1997/98. Florida’s all orange forecast (including temples) is forecast to rise 24 percent to a record high 10.3 million tons. According to a Florida Citrus Mutual spokesperson, the state’s largest citrus growers’ organization, the large crop will place downward pressure on prices at a time of weakening demand. According to the spokesperson, lower fruit prices have not translated into lower consumer prices in the past six years. However, Brazil’s orange crop is estimated lower, which should help demand for U.S. product. The U.S. grapefruit crop in 2003/04 is forecast at 1.98 million tons, up 6 percent from last year, but still down 10 percent from the 2001/02 crop. According to sources, many grapefruit growers in Florida have gone out of business and acreage has shrunk from a high of 139,000 acres in 1996/97 to about 100,000 acres. Last year’s crop was the smallest since 1989/90, but prices declined, due to global market conditions. Reports indicate that the larger crop this year would only put additional downward pressure on prices. Florida accounts for over 80 percent of the total U.S. grapefruit crop
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