The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday left unchanged a forecast for Florida orange production in the 2023-2024 growing season but cut projections for grapefruit and tangerines and tangelos.
The federal forecast came the same week that a new state budget included at least $22.7 million to combat citrus greening disease, which has ravaged the industry for two decades.
“This is the way I view the world today, I’ll take a buck any day,” incoming Senate President Ben Albritton, a Wauchula Republican and citrus grower, said Thursday. “Two dollars would have been nice, but $1 is fine. One dollar is better than zero.”
Read: Agritourism In Florida: Exploring The Ultimate Farm Experience And Sunshine State Agriculture
The new federal forecast estimated that Florida will produce 2.2 million 90-pound boxes of grapefruit and 500,000 boxes of specialty fruits, mostly tangerines and tangelos.
That was down from a February forecast that projected 2.4 million boxes of grapefruit and 550,000 boxes of specialty fruits.
Estimated orange production remained unchanged at 19.8 million boxes. But that was down from a 20.5 million box forecast as the season got underway in October.
Read: Florida Citrus Industry Gets Sour Forecast
The estimates remain up from the 2022-2023 season, which saw a large production drop after damage from Hurricane Ian. But the combined total of 22.5 million boxes forecast for this season remains on pace for one of lowest outputs in nearly 100 years.
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