Though battered, Florida has plenty of juice
Oct 13, 2004 11:35 AM, from staff and wire reports
The Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) announced that, despite a reduced crop estimate, Florida juice and fresh fruit will still be readily available throughout the nation this year. Although the citrus industry suffered immense damage from one of the harshest hurricane seasons in history, Florida will still be the premier provider of orange juice.
The size of this year’s crop combined with the recent emergency funding from Gov Jeb Bush and the state of Florida, makes it possible for FDOC to carry out its plan for a multi-faceted marketing campaign encouraging consumers to take advantage of the many health benefits of Florida orange juice.
United States Department of Agriculture crop estimates for Florida citrus cite the orange crop suffered a 27% loss over 2003’s production, and the grapefruit crop experienced a 63% loss over last year. These losses are expected to reduce orange juice inventories by 29% and grapefruit juice by 68% this season.
