USDA lowers projections for Florida citrus harvest this year

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What initially appeared to be a solid recovery for Florida’s citrus industry in the aftermath of two wild hurricanes in 2024 got a bit more challenging as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) revised its projection for this year’s harvest.

After a few months of fairly stable forecasts for the 2024-25 growing season, the revised USDA February projection brought down expectations. USDA officials now see Florida producing 11.5 million boxes of oranges this season and 1.1 million boxes of grapefruit. Another 350,000 boxes of tangerines and tangelos are expected to be harvested this season.

Tuesday’s figures are down from the January prognostication that called for 12 million boxes of oranges to be harvested by the end of this year’s growing season and 1.2 million boxes of grapefruit. Tangerine and tangelo harvests actually ticked up a bit for this month’s forecast compared to January’s projection of 300,000 boxes being picked.

But the downturn of expected orange and grapefruit harvesting was unexpected.

“The USDA’s estimate reflects the tremendous adversity Florida’s citrus growers continue to face after two decades of citrus greening and devastating hurricanes. What the numbers don’t reflect is the resilience and hope many multi-generational citrus growers have in the future of Florida’s citrus industry,” said Matt Joyner, Executive Vice President and CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual.

“We remain focused on finding long-term solutions to bolster Florida’s signature crop. It will require the collective effort of researchers, legislators, industry leaders and others.”

In January, Florida citrus growers were generally optimistic as the impact from Hurricanes Helene in September and Milton in October. That was particularly acute for Central Florida growers, who anticipated more extensive damage to citrus crops after Milton initially hit the state around Sarasota and crossed the peninsula before exiting in the Atlantic Ocean near Fort Pierce. That path tore right through the heart of Florida’s citrus country, but damage was manageable.