March 11 - The U.S. all orange forecast for the 2007-08 season is 10.0 million tons, up 1 percent from the February 1 forecast and 32 percent higher than the 2006-07 final utilization of 7.59 million tons.
Florida’s all orange forecast, at 167 million boxes (7.52 million tons), is up 1 percent from the previous forecast and 29 percent higher than last season’s final utilization of 129 million boxes. Early, midseason, and navel varieties in Florida are forecast at 82.0 million boxes (3.69 million tons), up 1 percent from February 1 and 25 percent above last season. Florida’s Valencia forecast, at 85.0 million boxes (3.83 million tons), is unchanged from the last forecast but 34 percent higher than 2006-07. Average fruit size for Valencia oranges remains small and is still expected to be smaller at harvest than any of the last eight non-hurricane seasons. Although the drop rate increased over the past month, it remained below average. The California Valencia forecast is 16.0 million boxes (600,000 tons), up 7 percent from the previous forecast and 45 percent above 2006-07. This brings California’s all orange forecast to 64.0 million boxes, up 2 percent from the January 1 forecast and 42 percent higher than last season. Harvest of Valencia oranges has begun and the crop looks good. The average fruit set per tree is higher than most years, while the fruit size is smaller than average.
Florida frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) yield forecast for the 2007-08 season is 1.63 gallons per box at 42.0 degrees Brix, up from 1.62 last month, but down from last season’s final yield of 1.65 gallons per box. The earlymid portion remains at 1.53 gallons per box, 2 percent below last season’s final of 1.56 gallons per box. The Valencia portion increased to 1.73 gallons per box, 2 percent lower than last season’s final of 1.77 gallons per box. All yield projections include the assumption that the processing relationships this season will be similar to those of the past several seasons.