Most of Florida's orange crop washed away by Hurricane Milton, squeezing industry at height of harvest

TAMPA, Fla. - Citrus crops across Florida are in a world of hurt, as back-to-back hurricanes and one of the most serious plant diseases plague oranges and their prices.

"Milton came across the center of the state and really impacted probably 70% of the most productive citrus acreage in Florida," Florida Citrus Mutual CEO Matt Joyner said on "Cavuto: Coast to Coast," Tuesday.

"We'd already been struggling, three hurricanes in the last seven years, plus fighting citrus greening, one of the most detrimental diseases known to citrus worldwide for the past two decades, has really put this industry back on its heels for sure."

File: Florida orange groves

New estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that Florida’s citrus crop was struggling before Hurricane Milton, with the cyclone expected to further exacerbate the challenges that growers now face.

According to the agency’s October survey, harvesters are expected to produce only 15 million boxes of oranges during the 2024-2025 season – a figure that represents a decline of about 16 percent from just a year ago.

This estimate was calculated before Milton impacted west-central Florida as a Category 3 hurricane, affecting some of the state’s largest citrus producers. The state's orange season goes from October to June with the height of harvest in December through May, while grapefruit season occurs from September to June with peak harvest in February.

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Joyner told FOX Business’ Neil Cavuto that there’s "no doubt" orange and orange juice prices could skyrocket under these conditions.

"These trees will continue to lose fruit over the next week or so. But we've seen a substantial amount of this year's early oranges in particular, but this year's crop, hit the ground already. And so we know that we're going to continue to see a little bit of that fruit loss over time," he explained.

"That's going to have an impact on what we're going to be able to bring to harvest this year," the CEO continued. "And certainly, not only [is] the impact is here in Florida, but what are somewhat global constraints on citrus around the world are going to continue to have that upward effect on pricing."

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According to the Florida citrus industry, every citrus-producing county in Florida was affected during Hurricane Irma in 2017. Most harvesters reported losses of 30 to 70 percent, with initial damages estimated to have exceeded $700 million.

Less than a decade later, the University of Florida’s Economic Impact Analysis Program estimated agricultural losses from Hurricane Ian in 2022 to be around $1 billion. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data also reports that both orange juice and orange concentrate are hovering near record highs at $4.23 per 12 ounces.

"We try to focus on what we're dealing with right now. Not a whole lot we can do to impact a hurricane when it's barreling towards us," Joyner reflected. "So we just deal with the here and now."