ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its forecast on Monday for the 2022-23 Florida orange crop that showed 28 million boxes are expected to be produced.
This will be the smallest number of boxes produced since World War II following Hurricane Ian's impact through southwestern Florida and citrus-growing areas, according to MarketWatch.
A lot of fruit was reportedly seen on the ground or floating in flooding waters by people in areas impacted by Ian.
On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio visited Florida Citrus Mutual's Annual Citrus Crop Estimate where he announced that nearly $3 million from disaster funds will go to the USDA.
“We’ll make sure, just like we did after Irma, that any spending bill will have sufficient support for the people in Florida’s agricultural and rural communities, many who have lost everything," Rubio said in a statement.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said the forecast also includes a decrease in grapefruit and specialty crop production in the state.
"As we move forward in the wake of this disaster...my department remains committed to innovation in the face of the ongoing challenges of weather events like Ian, citrus greening and unfair trade practices," Fried said in a statement. "It is heartbreaking to see such an iconic Florida industry hurting right now."
To learn more about the 2022-23 Florida orange crop forecast from the USDA, click here.