Along with gasoline and rent we get to add orange juice to the ever-expanding list of prices expected to skyrocket throughout the year. The January forecast for the U.S. citrus harvest is looking especially bleak for Florida orange growers. For the 2021/2022 season, the “Sunshine state” is expected to harvest 45 million 90 pound boxes in the state. If true, California’s crop (expected to be 47 million boxes) would exceed Florida’s for the first time ever. One of the results of the meager harvest would likely be rising orange juice prices. Analysts attribute the lower production to a worsening outbreak of citrus greening bacteria transmitted by a bug called the Asian citrus psyllid. (Data from USDA, chart from statista.com)
Jeffrey Cerny