Singerman on Orange Production Costs and CHMA Participation

Southwest Florida citrus growers are now spending about $2,327 per acre to grow oranges, University of Florida economist Ariel Singerman said in a Citrus Expo presentation in August. “This is a decrease in cost of about 4 percent compared to last year,” Singerman says in this report.

He explains the reason for the production cost decrease: “It is no longer profitable to keep raising those costs. Prices are not supporting a higher cost of production … They (growers) have to manage so that they make a living.”

Singerman also reported that according to a survey he conducted in April, 62 percent of growers are participating in citrus health management areas (CHMAs). CHMA participants coordinate sprays for HLB-spreading psyllids in an effort to minimize psyllid populations and HLB. He cites reasons the 38 percent who are not in CHMAs gave for not participating: “First, they don’t participate because their neighbors are not participating. And the second top reason was that they preferred to spray on their own timing.”