The fresh-market orange crop in the United States rose 2% in 2022–23 compared to the prior year, to 1.44 million tons, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service reported this fall. The increase was due to larger navel orange and early/midseason crops in California and Texas.
FRESH FRUIT PRICES FALL
With increased supply, grower prices for fresh oranges were lower than the prior season. The average equivalent-on-tree price for a box of fresh oranges decreased approximately 21%, from $25.91 in 2021–22 to $20.52 in 2022–23.
OJ HISTORIC LOW
Florida Valencia orange production in 2022–23 hit a historic low of 9.6 million boxes, or 434,000 tons, in large part due to losses from Hurricane Ian. Because 96% of the Valencia oranges grown in Florida go to juice, domestically produced orange juice (OJ) reached its lowest level in at least 50 years. The 111.8 million gallons produced in 2022–23 was down 50% from the prior season.
Historically, Florida’s production accounted for about 85% of the oranges going to processing in the United States. However, Florida’s share of oranges for processing declined to 60% in 2022–23, with the remaining 40% coming from California and Texas.
IMPORTED OJ SURGES
U.S. orange juice imports were up by 30% in 2022–23 at 574 million gallons single-strength equivalent. That’s a level roughly equivalent to the spike observed in 2017–18 when Hurricane Irma affected domestic production.
Brazil and Mexico remain the top suppliers of OJ to the U.S. market, accounting for 73% and 19% of imports, respectively. Imports have continued to make up an increasing share of domestic availability, accounting for an estimated 82% of the OJ available to U.S. consumers in 2022–23.
OJ generally falls into one of two categories: frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) and not from frozen concentrate (NFC). Historically, most of the oranges processed in Florida were made into FCOJ. However, that began to change around the turn of the century. By the 2004–05 season, most of the OJ made in Florida was NFC. Imports, on the other hand, have been more evenly split between NFC and FCOJ.
RECORD LOW EXPORTS
Exports of U.S. OJ reached a record low in 2022–23 at 31.6 million gallons, about 25% below the level in 2021–22. Canada, the Dominican Republic and Mexico were the primary importers of U.S. OJ in 2022–23.
See more in-depth information about the 2022–23 U.S. citrus crop from the USDA Economic Research Service’s Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook.
Source: USDA Economic Research Service
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