Florida orange crop up in final USDA tally
Florida orange crop up in final USDA tally
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced its final tally for the 2014-15 Florida orange crop at 96.7 million boxes. The figure represents a slight increase from the June estimate.
"It's nice to have a bit of stability on this final number from the USDA," Michael W. Sparks, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Florida Citrus Mutual, said in a press release. "Because we all know what an up and down year it's been fighting HLB and all of the market issues."
During the 2013-14 season, Florida produced 104 million boxes of oranges.
"Next year's crop is already on the tree and although I expect a season again filled with challenges, we have a lot to be optimistic about," Sparks said in the release. "The Florida citrus grower and all of the tremendous products we produce are here to stay."
Early-mid varieties held steady at 47.4 million boxes while Valencia oranges rose 300,000 boxes to 49 million. The USDA's final total of the 2014-15 Florida grapefruit crop was 12.95 million boxes and specialty citrus stayed close to 3 million boxes.
The USDA makes its initial estimate in October of each year and revises it monthly as the crop takes shape until the end of the season in July.