Citrus Harvest Sinks
WASHINGTON - Oct 9/15 - SNS -- Citrus fruit production in the United States is down significantly from last year, according to the USDA.
The United States all orange forecast for the 2015-2016 season is 5.77 million tons, down 10% from the 2014-2015 final utilization.
The 2015-2016 United States grapefruit crop is forecast at 823,000 tons, down 5% from last season's final utilization. In Florida, expected production is down 5% from last year. Production in California and Texas is also expected to be lower this season compared with last year.
The forecast for the 2015-2016 United States lemon crop is 844,000 tons, down 6% from last season's final utilization. Both Arizona and California are expecting lower production this season.
The United States tangerine and mandarin crop is forecast at 843,000 tons, unchanged from last season's final utilization. In California, production is forecast to be up 4% from last season. Estimates for Arizona have been discontinued.
Florida's tangelo forecast is 450,000 boxes (20,000 tons), down 34% from last season's final utilization. The production is the lowest since the 1958-1959 season.
Utilized Production of Citrus Fruits by Crop - States and United States: 2014-2015 and
Forecasted October 1, 2015
[The crop year begins with the bloom of the first year shown and ends with the completion of harvest the
following year]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Utilized production boxes 1/ : Utilized production ton equivalent
Crop and State :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: 2014-2015 : 2015-2016 : 2014-2015 : 2015-2016
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ------- 1,000 boxes ------- ------- 1,000 tons ------
Oranges :
Early, mid, and Navel 2/ :
California .................: 39,500 43,000 1,580 1,720
Florida ....................: 47,400 40,000 2,133 1,800
Texas ......................: 1,170 1,317 50 56
:
United States ..............: 88,070 84,317 3,763 3,576
:
Valencia :
California .................: 9,500 9,500 380 380
Florida ....................: 49,400 40,000 2,223 1,800
Texas ......................: 282 366 12 16
:
United States ..............: 59,182 49,866 2,615 2,196
:
All :
California .................: 49,000 52,500 1,960 2,100
Florida ....................: 96,800 80,000 4,356 3,600
Texas ......................: 1,452 1,683 62 72
:
United States ..............: 147,252 134,183 6,378 5,772
:
Grapefruit :
White :
Florida ....................: 3,250 2,800 138 119
:
Red :
Florida ....................: 9,650 9,500 410 404
:
All :
California .................: 3,800 3,500 152 140
Florida ....................: 12,900 12,300 548 523
Texas ......................: 4,250 4,000 170 160
:
United States ..............: 20,950 19,800 870 823
:
Tangerines and mandarins :
Arizona 3/ 4/ ................: 170 (NA) 7 (NA)
California 3/ ................: 18,200 19,000 728 760
Florida ......................: 2,270 1,750 108 83
:
United States ................: 20,640 20,750 843 843
:
Lemons :
Arizona ......................: 2,000 1,600 80 64
California ...................: 20,500 19,500 820 780
:
United States ................: 22,500 21,100 900 844
:
Tangelos :
Florida ......................: 680 450 31 20
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(NA) Not available.
1/ Net pounds per box: oranges in California-80, Florida-90, Texas-85; grapefruit in California-80,
Florida-85, Texas-80; tangerines and mandarins in Arizona and California-80, Florida-95; lemons-80;
tangelos-90.
2/ Navel and miscellaneous varieties in California. Early (including Navel) and midseason varieties in
Florida and Texas. Small quantities of Temples in Florida.
3/ Includes tangelos and tangors.
4/ Estimates discontinued in 2015-2016.
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