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| 3-11-09
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today released its March orange crop forecast for the 2008-2009 season holding the total estimate at 158 million boxes although there was some fluctuation within varieties.
“We are seeing the effects of the cold weather we had earlier this year on our Valencia crop,” said Michael W. Sparks, executive VP/CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual. “The freezing temperatures we experienced are contributing to accelerated fruit drop.”
The Valencia projection is now at 73 million boxes this season, down from February’s forecast of 75 million boxes. Florida citrus was hit with a cold spell on January 22 and February 5 which dropped temperatures below 28 degrees for several hours on both nights.
Visit this website for the complete USDA estimate. The USDA makes the initial forecast in October and then revises it monthly until the end of the season in July. In 2007-2008, Florida harvested 170.2 million boxes of oranges.
The early and midseason orange crop is now forecast at 85 million boxes, up from 83 million boxes. The USDA maintained its prediction that 23 million boxes of grapefruit will be produced in ’08-’09.
Florida specialty fruit is down; the USDA predicts 1.2 million boxes of tangelos, down from 1.3 million in February, and 4 million boxes of tangerines, down from 4.6 million. The yield for from-concentrate orange juice (FCOJ) is expected to be 1.64 gallons per 90-pound box, up from 1.61.
Read the original article from Florida Citrus Mutual.