The publication is the result of the most current survey of the annual Commercial Citrus Inventory survey of Florida citrus trees. The results of the annual Commercial Citrus Inventory indicate that total citrus acres of 332,256 acres. This is which is down by 11 percent compared to the survey that was conducted last year. The loss total of 43,046 acres represents an increase of 11,000 acres over what was lost during the last season. The new plantings of 6,203 acres have decreased from last year’s season.

Each of the 24 counties published in the Table on page 4 have seen decreases in acres. Hendry County was the county that lost the most acres, with a decrease of 11,073 from the prior season. DeSoto County remains the leader in terms of acreage, with 60,845 acres which is followed closely by Polk County at 60,131 acres.

The value of all citrus is dropped 61 percent, and production is down by to 62 percent

The preliminary $194 million tree value for the 2022-2023 citrus harvest is less than the $501 million updated amount for 2021-2022. The production for all of Florida’s citrus crops for 2022-2023 was 18.1 million boxes, which is down 60% from last year’s 45.3 million containers. The production of all oranges decreased by 62 percent, to 15.8 millions boxes.

Production outside Valencia of 6.15 million boxes has dropped by 66 percent over the 2021-2022 seasons. Valencia orange production of 9.65 million boxes is lower by to 58 percent. Grapefruit production in all regions decreased by 46 percent, to 1.81 millions of boxes. The production of tangelo and tangerine in 2022-2023 has decreased by 36 percent from last season.

Click here for the ‘Forecasting components of production derived from surveys of objective sources – Florida Through 2022-2023: 2018-2019’.

Source: nass.usda.gov