Things keep getting worse for citrus growers in Florida, where crop disease and slowing demand continue to threaten what used to be a signature industry in the sunshine state.
The state’s orange crop is poised to shrink to what could be the smallest harvest in five decades, according to Judy Ganes-Chase, president of J. Ganes Consulting in Panama City, Panama. There are signs that processors are handling less fruit than projected, underscoring why production could fall short of government estimates, she said.