The first forecast of Florida’s 2025-26 orange growing season from the USDA projects the state to produce 12 million boxes of oranges, down two percent year over year. It is the single worst output since 1930 as the groves of the Sunshine State have been decimated by citrus greening disease. That is a sharp fall from the 242 million boxes of oranges produced as recently as 2004. While the state once produced oranges for all uses, they are mostly destined for juicing. American production remains flat year over year, thanks only to California, which increased production one percent to 45.5 million boxes. None of this scarcity will hit the consumer, though: orange juice futures fell 7.4 percent Monday to $1.8865 per pound amid a production rebound in Brazil that has futures trading at 60 percent the level seen in December 2024.
Ilena Peng, Bloomberg
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