Florida’s annual citrus harvest has begun. The U.S Department of Agriculture has not released its annual citrus harvest forecast, but growers say a summer with ample rain and no hurricanes points to a good crop. But there’s a downside. Andrew Meadows with Florida Citrus Mutual said growers are dealing with historically high production costs.
“Upwards of $1,500 to $2,000 an acre, and that’s up tremendously from just ten years ago -- more than 50 percent,” he said. “And, really it can be attributed to disease management. We are facing several serious diseases but probably the most threatening is one called HLB or Citrus Greening.”
Most of Florida’s citrus is processed into orange juice and consumers have been paying more at the grocery store. However, Meadows says retail prices will likely remain stable given this year’s good crop and existing inventory. The industry also recently received a $9 million federal grant to fund research into biological controls for citrus greening. Citrus is a $9 billion industry in Florida supporting 76,000 jobs.
