It’s been over a decade since a hurricane came through Central Florida, but Florida Orange Juice futures surged last Thursday morning as if the storm had already done major damage to the citrus industry. The storm made it to a Category 1 hurricane by the time it made landfall in the first hours of Friday morning, with winds up to 80 mph. Florida orange juice prices reacted in anticipation of future damage from the storm.
Florida Orange Juice and Hurricanes
The last time a hurricane went through Central Florida was 2005. It was an active season that saw storms like Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Wilma cause havoc throughout the state. This September, Hurricane Hermine brought a lot of water—up to 10 inches in some areas—and was forecast to bring flooding to parts of the state’s citrus belt, according to an AgWeb.com article.
In anticipation of damage to an already hurting citrus industry, Florida orange juice for November delivery increased by 4.8 percent. The price has increased by nearly 50 cents in the past year due to continually falling harvest numbers caused by citrus greening. The latest increase brought the price per pound to $1.9285 on ICE Futures U.S. in New York.
Consumer consumption of Florida orange juice and orange juice from outside The Sunshine State has continued to fall due to rising prices. The world’s other major orange producer, Brazil, is also dealing with dropping orange harvests. Similarly, citrus greening has been detected in California, the U.S.’s second largest citrus producer. The most recent forecast put the 2016-17 season down over 25 percent of the 2015-16 season’s 81.5 million boxes.
Griffin Fertilizer is committed to helping both growers and ranchers make sound agronomic and economic decisions in order to maximize the health of their grove and pasture. As a full-service custom dry & liquid fertilizer blender and crop protection product distributor, we will continue our mission to further advance Florida agriculture. For questions or concerns about your farm or pasture, contact us and one of our team will be in touch.
