The world's second-largest producer of orange juice is under attack by tiny winged insects which cause citrus greening. This plague is deemed much worse than a hurricane.
Telegraph UK reports that orange groves in Florida are being attacked by a plague of Asian citrus psyllid that spreads a tree-killing disease called Huanglongbing. This would probably lead to an increase in price for orange products.
Experts estimate that the harvest for the fruit could plummet to just 27 million boxes by 2026 according to a recent study from the Florida Department of Citrus. That means a drop of 82 percent from 149.8 million boxes in 2005. This is the time when citrus greening was first discovered in Southern Florida.
Right now, the expected number of orange that can be produced is 74 million boxes; this is 6 million boxes less from the estimated 80 million in October. This number can still continue to go down if a cure for the disease will not be discovered soon according to experts. The forecast signals the worst slump since least 1913 according as reported in Bloomberg.
Between 2006 and 2014, about 7500 jobs have been lost to citrus greening, University of Florida estimates. This resulted to an estimated loss of $7.8 billion across the entire industry.
January prices for orange juice already increased by 6.7 percent, that's $1.5905 a pound in New York. That is the highest it has reached since December of 2014. A report reveals that orange juice prices had increased by 14 percent since June.
Citrus greening can affect popular brands of orange juice such as Tropicana and Coca-cola, which produces Minute Maid. Minute Maid contains oranges grown in Florida and sold in many parts of the world.
Just earlier this year, citrus greening also struck one of the orange plantations in China according to a spokesman for Asian Citrus. "The disease destroys the production, appearance and economic value of citrus trees."
The outlook is bleak for Florida's citrus industry, which "risks losing relevance and economic impact" in the long run if crop yields continue to fall and trees keep dying. Finding a permanent solution is difficult since the bacterium cannot be cultured outside citrus groves according to experts. However, experts remain positive as they pursue all possible solutions.
