Orange juice prices on the boil

We know that orange juice is full of vitamins. Its price too! The frozen and concentrated orange juice futures contract for delivery in March, the benchmark for the sector on the Chicago Stock Exchange, has risen an impressive 19% since January 1, to 2.44 dollars per pound (450 grams approximately), a record! As so often, the origin of this surge is to be found in the climatic conditions. And in particular the series of natural disasters in the Caribbean and in Florida, the world’s second largest producer of orange juice after Brazil. At the end of September, Hurricane Ian, classified as the 22nd deadliest in the United States, hit the coasts of this southeastern state, bordered by the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, causing significant crop damage. A few weeks later, storm Nicole in turn devastated the region, adding desolation to the destruction. Then, in December, storm Elliott brutally trapped people and animals, freezing the trees in its path. To this was added the so-called “yellow dragon” disease, or Huanglongbing disease (HLB) or even “greening”, conveyed by the psylla, a sucking insect of some 4 mm. When it attacks a tree, the ripening of citrus fruits is disturbed, the leaves wither, the fruits become acidic and the tree can die within a few years. To date, there is no treatment for this disease.

Harvest at 76-year low

Faced with this onslaught of disasters, the USDA, the American Department of Agriculture, could only see the damage. Internally, forecasters have run their models and revised down, each time a little more, their citrus production estimates for oranges. From 28 million boxes, they fell to 20 million and then to 18 million. For their part, producers are expecting the lowest orange harvest for 76 years. And next season is already looking bad, with the trees having lost a lot of leaves. According to the University of Florida, the citrus industry employs more than 33,000 people and brings in some $6.7 billion to the state.