Florida Orange-Crop Forecast Raised 0.2% in Government Report

Florida’s orange crop, the world’s second-largest, will be 0.2 percent bigger than forecast last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

About 146.5 million boxes of oranges will be picked in the harvest that began in October and finishes this month, up from 146.2 million projected last month, the USDA said today in a report. The average estimate of seven analysts and traders in a Bloomberg News survey was 146.26 million boxes.

“The Valencia crop came in better than expected,” Jack Scoville, a vice president for Price Futures Group in Chicago, said in a telephone interview before the figures were released.

In the previous season, the harvest totaled 140.5 million boxes, according to the USDA.

Orange juice for September delivery fell 0.6 percent to $1.282 a pound yesterday on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. The commodity plunged 33 percent in the past year.

Yields in Florida will average 1.63 gallons per box, up from 1.59 gallons last year, the USDA said.

A box weighs about 90 pounds (41 kilograms). Brazil is the world’s biggest orange producer.

To contact the reporter on this story: Marvin G. Perez in New York at mperez71@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net