Florida citrus season ends on high note with increased harvest forecast

Florida 2023-2024 citrus season turned out better than expected.

For the second month in row, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revised its Florida citrus harvest forecast upward.

The revised projected yield of citrus for the 2023-24 season was increased to 17.97 million boxes of oranges in Florida this year. That’s an increase of more than 100,000 boxes from early June’s forecast. The official end of the citrus season was June 30.

“As we look ahead, the future of Florida citrus holds great promise,” said Matt Joyner, Executive Vice President and CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual.

“For generations, Florida citrus growers have tackled challenges head-on, turning obstacles into opportunities for innovation, all to ensure a steady supply of fresh Florida orange juice for consumers nationwide. Now that we have tools proving effective at combatting citrus greening, we are hopeful that the coming year will bring continued improvements in the health of Florida citrus trees, production levels and the resiliency of our industry.”

In addition to oranges, the USDA is forecasting other citrus crops will hold steady. The federal agency forecast there will be 1.79 million boxes of grapefruit picked in Florida. Tangelos and tangerines will see about 450,000 boxes harvested. Both of those figures are the same as the June projection.

While the increased forecast numbers are encouraging, the numbers are still well off from the citrus industry’s peak performance in 1997-98, when there were 244 million boxes of oranges harvested.

Currently, there are nearly 2,000 citrus growers who are members of Florida Citrus Mutual, which was founded in 1948.