Florida citrus growers lost more than 4 percent of their orange crop and more than 3 percent of their grapefruit crop during last month's freezing weather, according to estimates released yesterday.
The Department of Agriculture forecast put Florida's orange crop in February at 129 million boxes, down from the estimate of 135 million boxes in January. Each box weighs about 90 pounds. Growers were relieved the damage wasn't more extensive, given Florida endured eight straight days of below-freezing temperatures last month.
Half of the orange crop losses came from Valencia oranges, whose fruit size is expected to be smaller than in previous crops. The Florida frozen concentrated orange juice yield estimate is 1.56 gallons per box, down from 1.60 gallons in January. The grapefruit crop estimate for February was 18.8 million boxes, down from 19.5 million boxes in January.
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