California projects 17 million tons of Valencia oranges for the 2025/26 season
A March report issued by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is projecting 17 million tons of Valencia oranges for the current 2025/26 season in the Golden State. The estimate is 16 percent above the production total of the previous campaign and five percent above the five-year production average.
The increase can be explained by a higher average yield, which the agency found to be 657 oranges per tree.
This figure is considerably higher than in recent years, representing a 19 percent jump compared to the 2024/25 season and 18 percent above the five-year average of 557. In fact, the CDFA had not forecasted such a high average yield since the 2015/16 campaign, when it estimated an average of 696 oranges.
California’s Valencia orange crops are bigger and more efficient
The latest edition of the Valencia Orange Objective Measurement Survey, which has been examining the crop in the state since 1985, shows an interesting trend: a sustained decrease in planted acreage, alongside a steady average tree density.
These numbers reflect a higher level of agronomic efficiency, especially considering that yearly production totals don't show significant variations.
Finally, the CDFA also reported an increase in the average fruit size. Valencia orange samples showed a 17 percent increase in diameter, sitting at 2.55 inches. This is the biggest size forecasted by the agency since the 2017/18 season, when the average fruit diameter was 2.58 inches.
For the survey sample, the CDFA randomly selected 330 Valencia orange groves proportional to acreage, county, year planted, and variety representation in the state. Out of the total, 313 of these groves made it into the survey. The sampled groves were primarily in the top Valencia orange-producing counties of Tulare, Kern, San Diego, and Ventura.
*All images are referential
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