California’s freeze is forecast to reduce sharply the California orange harvest and U.S. fresh orange exports. Based on the National Agricultural Statistics Service’s (NASS) January forecast, the freeze in December in the San Joaquin Valley reduced California’s orange crop to 1.3 million metric tons, down 49 percent from last year’s harvest. Although California normally accounts for about 25 percent of total U.S. orange production, that state accounts for most of the U.S. domestic fresh consumption and fresh orange exports. The freeze is expected to reduce sharply U.S. fresh orange exports and domestic consumption in 1998/99. U.S. orange exports in 1998/99 are forecast at 400,000 tons, 38 percent below last season’s record shipments of 645,000 tons. This forecast would be the lowest level since 1990/91, when a similar, though more severe, freeze reduced U.S. fresh orange exports to only 233,000 tons. U.S. orange exports in 1997/98 were valued at $362 million. The value of U.S. orange exports in 1998/99 is expected to also be down sharply, but not proportionally to the volume decrease, due to likely higher unit prices. Spain and Morocco, the other two largest citrus exporting countries, are also forecast to have lower production and exports in the 1998/99 season.

Approved by the World Agricultural Outlook Board/USDA 

Last modified: Tuesday, May 08, 2001