The latest Florida Citrus Statistics report for the 2022-23 season shows total production dropped 60% year-on-year. 

U.S. citrus production is now dominated by California, accounting for 79% of total production, but that was not always the case.

In 2016, California surpassed Florida as the leading citrus producer in the nation. A series of destructive weather events, like 2017’s Hurricane Irma, have battered the industry in recent years. That year, the industry saw the lowest Florida crop yield in 70 years.

The ongoing presence of citrus greening disease in the state has challenged the state's growers season after season.

Since 2005, when the disease was first detected in the state, orange production in Florida has dropped 90%, from 150 million boxes to 15.8 million boxes produced in 2023. 

In 2022-23 Florida’s total share of the national crop was down to 17%, coming in a distant second to California. Texas and Arizona produced the remaining 4%.

Regarding specific categories, Florida’s orange production, at 15.8 million boxes, was down 62% from the previous season. Grapefruit production in Florida, at 1.81 million boxes, was down 46%, while tangerine and tangelo production was down 36% from the previous season.

Value down

Florida’s $194 million preliminary, on-tree value estimate of the 2022–23 citrus crop was down 61% from the $501 million revised value for 2021–22.

The value of the crop dropped 13% on a national level to $2.58 billion.

Exports

Florida fresh fruit exports totaled 467,000 cartons in 2022–23. Belgium received most of Florida’s grapefruit exports, while Canada accounted for most of Florida’s orange and tangerine exports.

A total of 675,000 gallons of frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) were exported from Florida in the 2022–23 season.

Much of the information in the Florida Citrus Statistics report was sourced through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.