Home > News & Media > Growers should have profitable season

Growers should have profitable season

News-Chief – October 20, 2011

BARTOW – Florida citrus growers should enjoy another profitable season in 2011-12 despite falling U.S. orange juice sales and record high retail prices for consumers.

Despite a higher 2011-12 orange crops from Florida and Brazil, which together produce almost 84 percent of the world’s orange juice, a greater percentage of the 2.9 billion OJ gallons both should produce in 2011-12 will go to replenish shrinking inventories during the past two years, said Brown, who delivered his final seasonal outlook. He will retire as senior research economist at the Florida Department of Citrus next month.

Brazil, coming out of a drought year, will see a 31.6 percent increase in orange production in its 2011-12 season and a comparable rise in OJ production, Brown said. Global OJ supplies ended 2010-11 down 9.7 percent following a 6.2 percent decline the previous season, but they are expected to increase 5.5 percent this season.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has forecast the 2011-12 Florida orange crop at 147 million boxes, up 5 percent.

Even if both orange crop projections prove accurate, millions of gallons of OJ production will not make it to store shelves because of inventory rebuilding, he said.

Click here to view this article online