In a press release dated September 14, California Citrus Mutual (CCM) announced that the state’s current navel orange crop is down about 7 million cartons. This is approximately 10 percent of total production and is the second year in a row crop production has fallen.
The 2017-18 California Navel Orange Objective Measurement Survey released on September 12 forecasts the 2017-18 navel crop to be 70 million cartons. Of the total forecast, 68 million cartons are estimated to be in the Central Valley; down 10 percent from the 2016-17 final utilized production of 75.6 million cartons. The forecast includes conventional, organic and specialty varieties, including Cara Cara and blood orange varieties.
The survey data indicated a fruit set per tree of 273, below the five-year average of 348. The average September 1 diameter was 2.341 inches, above the five-year average of 2.240 inches. The forecast reflects bearing acreage of 115,000 acres, down 5,000 acres from 2016-17.
The complete report is available on the CCM website here.
Share this Post
About the Author
