Hurricane Ian devastates Florida citrus growers

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Hurricane Ian devastates Florida citrus growers

Orange farmers in Florida are just beginning to assess the damage from Hurricane Ian's devastating winds and rain, but ominous signs are already emerging.

Many of the orange stems are twisted and damaged at the third-generation citrus grower Peter Spyke's groves, some 200 miles 322 kilometers north of where Ian struck the coast. He said that means that the fruit won't ripen.

Fruits are still on the trees but they don't have the ability to sustain life from the tree itself, Marion County-based Spyke said by phone. He added that the full extent of the hurricane's destruction won't be revealed for days or weeks.

Spyke's groves aren't close to the epicenter of Ian's wrath. The hardest-hit of the main producing areas lie further south, in Polk, De Soto and Hardee counties, according to Donald Keeney, senior meteorologist at Maxar Technologies Inc. They account for about 36% of Florida's citrus production.

Ian threatens to deal a devastating blow to Florida orange growers who are already reeling from a disease called citrus greening, which damages fruit and eventually kills trees. The storm's destruction has resulted in a surge in orange prices that have soared 36% this year on tight global supplies, adding to the pain for consumers as a result of rampant food inflation.

Tree damage is the biggest concern according to Jon Davis, chief meteorologist at Everstream Analytics, while Ian's winds have certainly knocked fruit to the ground. He said that if trees are damaged, production can be hurt for years. Florida was already behind California as the largest orange-producing state.

Raymond Royce, executive director of Highlands County Citrus Growers Association in Sebring, Florida, said there is a lot of fruit on the ground. He still hasn't seen significant tree damage, but he has yet to do a full assessment because we are focused on cleaning up our houses now. There is no power here. According to a spokesman, the US Department of Agriculture is prepared to offer disaster assistance and risk management programs to citrus producers affected by Ian. According to Christina Morton, communications director at the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, it could take a week or more to determine the financial impact of citrus growers.

Orange juice futures in New York rose by 1.1% to $1.9045 a pound after touching a five-year high on Thursday. Ian's impact could increase the need for imports to the US, which currently meets 65% of its demand using supplies from other countries. The stockpiles in top producer Brazil are at the lowest level since 2017 due to drought.

Judy Ganes, president of J Ganes Consulting, said that skyrocketing prices may curb demand from consumers, who were already showing resistance to premium pricing for not-from- concentrate orange juice.

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