The supply of oranges in Florida is starting to transition from early and mid-season oranges to late-season Valencia oranges. "The supply is somewhat light at the moment but we'll start seeing an increase in volume in the coming weeks," says Steven Callaham of the Dundee Citrus Growers.
Following the two hurricanes that passed through Florida in the fall of 2024–Hurricane Helene in late September and Hurricane Milton in early October–the industry's supply is down overall compared to the year before. Callaham also adds that while the industry started about a week and a half later this year, Hurricane Milton affected supply for almost two weeks in the early part of the season.
However, the state, which has both a juice and fresh industry, is expected to shift a percentage of the fruit to the fresh side of the market. "The fresh industry will maintain a steady supply of oranges through May and some houses may pack even later out of cold storage," says Callaham.
Increase in sizing
As for the quality of fruit, Callaham says it is seeing excellent internals on what it is packing. With the transition to late-season varieties, there is better sizing than last year's late-season varieties and also better sizing than the early-season fruit. "In all, we'll have a good range of sizes to offer our customers," says Callaham.
Meanwhile, with good demand for oranges, which are also coming out of California at the moment, and some volume from Texas, the market is steady as is pricing right now.
Looking ahead though, as the varieties change to late-season fruit, pricing may shift. "The value of the late-season varieties is higher than early-season varieties so we will see some firming of those prices," says Callaham.
For more information:
Steven Callaham
Dundee Citrus Growers
Tel: +1 (863) 439-1574
[email protected]
http://dun-d.com/