The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service released a report Wednesday indicating no changes in citrus from the Sunshine State -- news an official from the Florida Department of Citrus described as “welcome.”
The June forecast estimated Florida orange production for the 2014-15 season at 96.4 million boxes. Florida grapefruit production was projected at 12.95 million boxes. Even with those numbers not changed since the last report, citrus production is down 8 percent from last season. The USDA will release a final estimate on the citrus season on July 10.
Florida Department of Citrus Executive Director Doug Ackerman offered his take on the report on Wednesday.
“The stability reflected in today’s forecast is welcome,” Ackerman said. “However, we haven’t lost sight of the bottom-line costs our growers have experienced this season. We are already hard at work on our programs for next season, and we will work closely with the industry to protect and promote the interests of Florida citrus.”
The decline in Florida citrus from last season is mostly the result of Huanglongbing (HLB), better known as citrus greening.
Spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, a tiny insect, citrus greening infects trees, leading to deformed and bitter fruit. Eventually, citrus greening kills the tree. One of the few ways to fight citrus greening is by removing the tree.
In 2013, the Florida citrus industry -- which generates $9 billion and employs more than 75,000 Floridians -- saw its worst year in almost a quarter century. Earlier in the year, the USDA awarded $30 million to fight citrus greening and, back in April, launched a project with an additional $23 million in grants to fight citrus greening.
Adam Putnam, commissioner of agriculture, issued a statement Wednesday: “While the citrus forecast remains unchanged from the May announcement, which was the lowest in decades, we will continue to fight to save Florida’s signature crop, its more than $10.7 billion economic impact and the more than 64,000 jobs it supports.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
