(The Center Square) – A report by a nonpartisan nonprofit says Florida’s citrus industry’s production has dropped 90% in the last 20 years and offers solutions back to primacy.
The report by Florida Taxwatch says the industry is under assault by citrus diseases and hurricanes. Florida was hit by three hurricanes this year alone, with two of them, Helene and Milton, impacting the citrus industry.
The forecast for this season was predicted at 15 million boxes for oranges and 1.4 million boxes for grapefruit. According to the report, the two hurricanes resulted in that forecast dropping by 3 million boxes in orange production and 200,000 boxes in grapefruit production.
According to a 2023 analysis performed by the University of Florida, the state experienced citrus losses of $490 million in 2017 after Hurricane Irma and $247 million after 2022’s Hurricane Ian.
Freezing temperatures are also an issue. Freezes from the late 1800s to the late 1900s put many growers out of business. A freeze in 1977 damaged 15% of the state’s crop, while another cold snap in 1989 wiped out 15%.
Disease has also hurt the industry as well.
Citrus greening, a bacteriological infection that ultimately kills infected trees, has infested 80% of the trees according to a 2019 survey by the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences.
Growers have also battled citrus canker, a disease that creates small lesions on the fruit and results in fruit falling earlier from the tree.
State officials have spent more than $45 million on citrus diseases from 2007 to 2015, but little progress has been made to combat citrus greening.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that citrus greening led to a 75% reduction in Florida’s citrus production and more than doubled production costs from 2005 to 2015.
The report recommends strategic planting, continued scientific research into citrus greening that might require a new strain of disease-resistant fruit and increased awareness of citrus production requirements.
“The citrus industry has historically been an important part of Florida’s identity. Many families have been in the citrus business for generations,” said Florida TaxWatch Executive Vice President and General Counsel Jeff Kottkamp in a news release. “Florida, at present, provides 33% of the nation’s orange production and 42% of the nation’s grapefruit production.
“For the continuing health and viability of the citrus industry in Florida it is vital for the citrus industry to sustain its efforts in mitigating higher production costs and rebuilding industry infrastructure to ensure long-term sustainability.”