USDA held Florida orange production at 77.0 million 90-lb boxes in today’s production report: 32.0 million boxes of early-midseason oranges and 45.0 million boxes of Valencias. A couple forecast components shifted a bit but not enough to change box count. The drop rate for early-mids held steady around 26 percent, and these oranges remained on the small side—not surprising, given the increased count in fruit per tree this season—but they were slightly less small than the December report pegged them. The drop rate for Valencias improved from 28 percent in December to 24 percent this month, but fruit is smaller, with 266 fruit per box estimated now vs. 257 fruit per box in December.

USDA reported the ratio from early oranges at 18.78 as of Feb. 1, the highest ratio in a while, and 17.24 for midseason oranges, the highest since 2015/16. The ratio for Valencias was 18.01, also the highest since 2015/16.

Maturity test results for Florida Valencia oranges: Ratio


Source: USDA
Posted by: Information Services
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