USDA Reports Florida Citrus Crop is Declining

It was reported yesterday by the United States Department of Agriculture that all orange production in Florida is down by 1%. The only increase in production was in the non-Valencia orange production, which increased approximately less than 1%.

The projection for 2013-2014 of all Florida oranges has been lowered from the 134 million forecast for 2012-2013 to 133.4 million boxes. The original USDA July Forecast Report can be found here.

The decline in the orange crop production is being attributed to citrus greening, which is a bacterial disease that causes oranges to not fully ripen and drop prematurely. More information on citrus greening can be found here.

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