The smallest orange crop in 24 years is estimated to be even smaller according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s latest estimates. The USDA has adjusted its November estimate for orange production down 3% to 121 million boxes – 9% lower than last year’s crop. This is the lowest estimate since 1989/1990 when a hard freeze resulted in a crop of 110.2 million boxes. The losses this year are being attributed to fruit fall and small size because of the citrus disease citrus greening plaguing groves. Along with a drop in production, growers will also have issue with a drop in consumption. Americans bought 563.2 million gallons of orange juice in 2012 – the lowest amount in 15 years as consumers are opting for more exotic fruit juices like acai berry or energy drinks. Retail sales for this past season were $3.49 billion – down 5.2% from a decade ago and sales volumes were down by a third. Cost of production is also increasing for growers with the average cost being as much as $2,000 per acre.
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