Everyone is talking about inflated prices for just about everything. Citrus is among those items. Why? Because orange production is way down in Florida. HLB, fruit drop, poor quality and a freeze are all conspiring to keep prices rising.
Total U.S. orange juice production in the current 2021–22 season is forecast at 286 million single-strength equivalent (SSE) gallons, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service reported recently. If realized, this volume will be the lowest in more than 50 years.
To compensate for lower production, U.S. OJ imports are expected to increase over last year, reaching more than 400 million gallons. Mexico and Brazil are the main suppliers of OJ imports into the U.S., accounting for a combined 93%.
Fifty-nine percent of U.S. oranges will go to OJ in the 2021–22 season. Most oranges for the processing market are grown in Florida. The average processed orange price reported in January was $6.73 per box, 3 cents higher than the same time last year.
Frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) has been on an upward run on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) futures market. In the first week of April, FCOJ futures were up by 46% compared to a year earlier. Futures were up by 9% since the beginning of the year. Market prognosticators predict prices will remain bullish.
The prices are up for fresh fruit as well. According to California Citrus Mutual, navel oranges are fetching 40% higher prices than the nine-year average.