Should you be prepared for a big price hike on orange juice?Hurricane damage hurts Florida citrus production

• The price of orange juice is expected to soar in the United States because of Hurricane Ian.
• Florida is a major producer of oranges, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture expects production to drop 32% next season.
• Florida orange growers have battled natural disasters and pests for years.

Freshly squeezed orange juice is going to get more and more expensive.

Central Florida, with its orchards, is a thriving area for orange and orange juice production. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has warned that orange production could drop significantly.

The USDA expects next season’s orange production to drop 32% to 28 million boxes from last season’s 41 million boxes, which will push the price of orange juice — still 12 ounces today. ), which has hit a record high of $2.90 a can — and points out that prices will also rise. As Florida Secretary of Agriculture Nikki Fried has commented, these numbers are before taking into account the damage from Hurricane Ian, and will continue to serve “growers, processors, manufacturers and governments.” For us, it will serve as a pivotal baseline for predicting further losses.”

“We will continue to support Florida citrus growers as we navigate through this disaster and we will continue to support weather events like Ian and citrus greening disease (which wreak havoc on citrus). Rest assured that we will continue to innovate against unfair trade practices,” said Secretary Freed.

“It is heartbreaking to see an iconic Florida industry suffer. We believe in the tenacity and passion of the professionals who work for us, and we believe that we will come back stronger than ever.”

Freed added that he intends to “do everything in our power to ensure that Florida growers have all the resources available to help them recover from Hurricane Ian.”

California will overtake Florida as the leading producer of oranges next season, accounting for nearly 62% of US orange production, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Growers in Florida have faced many challenges in the past. This summer, Insider traveled to central Florida to interview many of the growers who have long battled not only natural disasters, but also the problems citrus greening disease poses to oranges and grapefruits. Citrus greening disease interferes with orange growth and juice production, leading to the death of fruit trees.

With no cure and an ongoing problem of citrus greening, Florida growers are working to develop innovative solutions to boost citrus growth. For example, Dan Richey, CEO of Florida’s Riverfront Packing Company, previously applied Coca-Cola-funded orchard trees with insect-invisible red clay to keep them out. He told Insider about his own pilot program to launch.

Even though citrus prices have risen and there are shortages, there is still demand for vitamin C. Jennifer Schaal, chief financial officer of the Dundee Citrus Growers Association, one of Florida’s largest horticultural cooperatives, said, “Demand hasn’t fallen. is a very good thing,” he told Insider.

“During the pandemic, there was a very high demand for any agricultural product containing vitamin C. Citrus fruits are good sources of vitamin C directly, and oranges can be eaten as is or as juice.” Scharr says.

[Original: Get ready to see orange juice prices spike at the grocery store thanks to Hurricane Ian]

(Translated and edited by Yoshimi Yamaguchi)