By Kirk Maltais
California is likely to grow more oranges than Florida, claiming the citrus crown from the southern state for a second year.
Florida has been the dominant orange-growing state for decades. Frozen concentrated orange juice was invented in the state, and at its height in 1998, Florida produced 244 million boxes, or 9.9 million metric tons, of oranges.
The Agriculture Department predicts Florida would produce nearly 837,000 tons of oranges in the 2023/24 marketing year, up 30% from the previous year. California, meanwhile, is likely to produce 1.66 million tons.
California's production is about on par with its usual output, while Florida has been struggling with cold snaps, greening disease and recovering from extensive hurricane damage.
The outlook for Florida production is uncertain. "Florida is having colder winters and more storms, this creates harder situations for the crops to recover," said Chicago-based commodities trader Peter Mooses.
The majority of Florida oranges are used to produce orange juice, due to the thinner skin these oranges typically have as the crop is hit by hind cross-state winds. California oranges have a thicker skin, making them better-suited as table fruit.
"Virtually 100% of our fruit is grown for the fresh market," said Casey Creamer, chief executive of California Citrus Mutual, a trade association representing growers in the state.
Production of oranges for juice is limited to those that don't meet the higher standards of presentation needed for table fruit, Creamer said. If Florida were to continue to drag in its orange production, California is unlikely to adjust its production for more juice - with the juice market more likely to shift to more Brazilian and Mexican production, Creamer said.
The USDA projects U.S. orange juice production to rise nearly 30%, to 110,000 tons - thanks to improvements to Florida's output expected this marketing year.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-26-24 1446ET
