The price of orange juice soared on Monday, fueled by fears that the passage of Hurricane Ian could reduce the harvest in Florida, one of the two main producing regions in the United States.
The frozen orange juice concentrate futures contract for November delivery jumped as high as $2.01 per pound (about 450 grams) for the first time in nearly six years (December 2016). Hurricane Ian, which hit Florida last week, could have caused a total of between 28,000 and 47,000 million dollars in damage, according to an estimate by the specialized firm CoreLogic.
Significant fruit drops
During his stay in Florida, Ian notably traversed Polk County, the state’s leading orange-producing region. “In the areas of citrus belt“, the great citrus region located in South Florida, “many fruits have fallen from their trees,” said the Federation of Florida Bureaus of Agriculture.
Ian’s visit took place in September, when the orange harvest begins, which lasts until June depending on the areas and varieties. “Our first observations revealed significant fruit drops,” Alico, one of two giant oranges in Florida, with the Texan-origin King Ranch group, said in a news release.
Florida dethroned by California
Florida, the United States’ longtime top orange-producing region, ceded its throne to California this year after being hit by so-called yellow dragon disease, also known as Huanglongbing disease (HLB), which can disrupt the ripening of citrus fruits and causing the fruit to drop prematurely.
It is carried by the psylla, a tiny insect vector of a bacterium, which causes the yellowing of the leaves, then the deformation of the fruits, until it affects the entire tree, due to the narrowing of its vascular system. First affecting Florida in 2005, it contaminated nearly every orchard in the state. There is no known treatment for this disease.
Production in Florida for the 2021-22 season, which ended in June, was down 23%. California had contributed 55% of the production, compared to 44% in Florida.
Source: BFM TV
