Florida oranges aren't what they once were

[Free]

And Trump's tariffs are only part of the reason.

Who Killed the Florida Orange?

Quiet fell over the room, which was neither full nor very loud to begin with, and the 2026 Florida Citrus Show began.

“It should be a great day,” began the event’s first speaker. “Rain should hold off today, even though we definitely need more rain.” No one laughed.

There was no need to say that things were bad. Everyone knew it. The mood wasn’t sour—citrus farmers could handle sour. It was something else. Postapocalyptic. Florida is in the midst of its worst drought in 25 years, but the dry spell actually ranked far down on the list of challenges these bedraggled growers were facing.

In 2003, the mighty Florida orange industry produced 242 million boxes of fruit, with 90 pounds of oranges per box, most of which went on to become orange juice. Now, not even 25 years later, the United States Department of Agriculture was forecasting a pitiful 12 million boxes of oranges, the least in more than 100 years, the worst year since last. A decline of more than 95 percent.

 

[Essence Lumin]

 

[Lexxi]

242 million boxes of fruit, with 90 pounds of oranges per box, most of which went on to become orange juice. Now, not even 25 years later, the United States Department of Agriculture was forecasting a pitiful 12 million boxes of oranges

I hate when they do that. Millions of boxes of fruit compared with millions of boxes of oranges. How many boxes of oranges 25 years ago? Is it still 90 pounds of oranges per box now 25 years later? WTF are they doing here comparing a random collection of fruit with a specific fruit? Were there any oranges in those 242 million boxes of fruit? Yes, 90 pounds of it per box. Is the change from fruit to oranges mean that Florida only sells oranges now? Did Florida go from selling 242 boxes of fruit, 90 pounds of oranges per box, 25 years ago down to 12 million boxes of fruit, 100% of which is the product 'oranges' (still 90 pounds per box?), and 0% of which is any other kind of fruit? pfft.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

Pretty sure the Florida orange industry wasn't producing any boxes of apples, lemons, pomelos, gooseberries, cherries, or pineapples.

 

[Noodles]

Something something Climate Crisis.

If they think immigration is bad now, just wait until the space between the tropics lines becomes unlivable in 5-10 years. Oranges will probably go extinct in there somewhere.

Also how does China handle the Orange tree disease?

Or nevermind, it seems like the actual problem disease was over agressive Capitalism all around. As usual.

 

[Isabeau]

I don’t often eat oranges anymore, they just don’t seem to taste like they used to. With all those pesticides they use, now I see why. And now with tariffs…

Was interesting to read about the history of oranges in the US. I wasn’t aware about any of it.

I looked up what the Chinese are doing using AI (forgive me but I didn’t want to read all the research and articles this morning) and was interesting.

“China, the origin of the devastating citrus greening disease (Huanglongbing or HLB), manages diseased oranges through a multi-pronged approach that includes strict quarantine of infected trees, intensive insecticide use to control the Asian citrus psyllid vector, and the use of certified pathogen-free nursery stock. Recently, Chinese researchers have also developed advanced biological controls, including antimicrobial peptides derived from human gut bacteria that can reduce infection levels by up to


in a single season.“
中国科学院 +4

 

[Free]

Pretty sure the Florida orange industry wasn't producing any boxes of apples, lemons, pomelos, gooseberries, cherries, or pineapples.

Perhaps a few swamp apples are slipped into the crates. From time to time.

 

[Rose Karuna]

I live in an area that once had miles and miles of citrus groves. Now, it's miles and miles of roads and housing. They didn't mention development being a major issue, but it is. There is almost no agricultural land left in this area that is not already zoned as residential, commercial or industrial. It's insane. We keep having to go to city council meetings regularly to fight them because they are constantly trying to rezone our area from agricultural to commercial.

Also, what few farmers are left, are looking toward growing things that are more native to the area. Makes a lot of sense to me. That's what I've been doing with my garden too. I'm going to have to look into those swamp apples!

 

[Lexxi]

Pretty sure the Florida orange industry wasn't producing any boxes of apples, lemons, pomelos, gooseberries, cherries, or pineapples.

Why are you sure of that? Both lemons and oranges are citrus fruits and both are produced in Florida. Farmers generally produce diverse crops, not just one thing. If they limited themselves to citrus, common Florida citrus products are oranges, lemons, grapefruit, limes, tangerines.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

Oh please. That's a classic "well actually". The intent of the sentence is obvious.

 

[Beebo Brink]

I live in an area that once had miles and miles of citrus groves. Now, it's miles and miles of roads and housing. They didn't mention development being a major issue, but it is.

??? I didn't make it through the entire article, but what I did read mentioned development as one of the largest contributors to the death of the industry.

 

[Rose Karuna]

??? I didn't make it through the entire article, but what I did read mentioned development as one of the largest contributors to the death of the industry.

Yep, focused on the citrus greening and missed that.