The state of Florida is the second largest orange juice producer after Brazil and the industry is under serious threat from a bacterial disease called ‘citrus greening’ which is spread by a small insect called an Asian citrus psyllid. In the 1990s Florida citrus growers produced more than 200 million boxes of fruit and this year estimates are for production of 133 million boxes. Official forecasts are due out on October 11th. Costs have more than doubled as well, from $800 per acre to $1,900 per acre due to fighting the pest. Overall the disease has cost $4.5 billion since 2006 and the University of Florida has spent almost $70 million on research on how to eradicate the disease. Florida is not the only region affected – Texas and California citrus has also been affected by citrus greening as well as Brazil.
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