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The passage of Hurricane Ian will reduce the Florida orange harvest, which was already expected to be very low. A blow for the producers of the region.
The hurricane struck at the heart of orange production. In the Citrus Belt, where Florida’s famous citrus fruits are grown, many fruits have fallen from the trees according to the local Federation of Agriculture Bureaux. The hurricane arrived at the start of the orange picking period. Its impact is likely to be felt for a long time.
In the short term, we can expect a drop in the harvest, which has already plummeted in recent years due to a disease, Greening, which has decimated the orchards of the American state. Since 2005, Florida has seen its harvests plummet. Its production amounted to 44 million boxes – of 40.8 kg – in 2020/2021 against an average of 220 million 15 years ago.
The hurricane could accelerate the contamination of orchards
Secondly, the consequences could be even more dramatic: the winds linked to the hurricane risk spreading the disease to orchards hitherto spared, fears Éric Imbert researchers at the Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD) . If they are in turn contaminated ” the harvest will be reduced to a trickle confides the expert and accentuate the fragility of small farmers who have already been abused for years. Their only meager consolation: the prices which have soared since the passage of the hurricane.
The price per tonne of orange juice concentrate for immediate delivery to the Port of Rotterdam has increased by $100 to $2,300. Frozen concentrate futures prices for November delivery hit their highest level in six years.
Losses offset by the Brazilian harvest
This price boom may not last. The market should not lack oranges: Florida has become a minor player on the international scene and the drop in production due to the hurricane should be largely compensated by the harvest in Brazil – the world’s largest processor of oranges in concentrated juice – estimated to be up by more than 50 million boxes compared to last year, i.e. 317 million boxes in total.