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| 12-21-09
Florida OJ sales rose for the eighth straight month thanks largely to lower prices, but the gains came partly at the expense of declining grapefruit juice sales.
OJ sales rose 4.2 percent in the month ending Nov. 28 compared to the same period a year ago, Bob Norberg, deputy executive director of research and operations at the Florida Department of Citrus, told the Citrus Commission on Wednesday.
Sales rose 5.3 percent for the first two months of the 2009-10 season, which began in October, and 1.9 percent over the previous year, he said.
Norberg credited the sales increases mostly to lower retail prices, which averaged $5.38 a gallon for the recent month. Prices seem to have stabilized at that level, he said.
Grapefruit juice sales sank 6.2 percent during the recent month, 6.4 percent for 2009-10 and 5.6 for the year while prices stayed flat at about $6.35 a gallon, Norberg said.
Many consumers switch between OJ and grapefruit based on price, he said.
Read the original article from The Ledger.