Good News for Florida’s Grapefruit Growers

The first two citrus crop forecasts of the 2014-2015 season, released by the USDA, leave Florida citrus growers feeling pretty good about what’s on the horizon for citrus. Production forecasts are holding strong, leaving the entire citrus industry optimistic.

Grapefruit growers are in especially good spirits after seeing November’s unchanged production forecast. Though the report suggests a slight decrease from the prior season, it still points to grapefruit production stabilization.

This stabilization for the industry is impressive in the face of the invasive, incurable citrus greening disease. It showcases the resilience of these growers. They’ve risen to the challenge with innovative treatments, and the result is improved fruit quality.

Here’s the latest in grapefruit according to November’s USDA forecast:

• Florida all grapefruit production is unchanged at 15.0 million boxes.
• Florida white grapefruit forecast is unchanged at 4.0 million boxes.
• Florida colored grapefruit forecast is unchanged at 11.0 million boxes.
• Current fruit size of white grapefruit is slightly above the minimum and droppage is above average.
• Current fruit size of colored grapefruit is also slightly above the minimum and droppage is above average.

For more details on Florida citrus, including fruit droppage rates and maturity levels, check out the full report conducted by the USDA.

Do you think a negative forecast will occur? Or do you expect production stabilization for grapefruit this season? Comment below and let us know!

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