Global orange prices have increased sharply due to declining production in major producing regions like Florida and Brazil.
Drought, disease, and strong demand have contributed to shortfalls.
“There are three main factors driving the soaring price of orange juice, and it’s drought, disease and demand,” stated Ted Jenkin, oXYGen Financial CEO and co-founder.
In particular, Brazil is forecasted to have one of its smallest orange harvests in over 30 years due to citrus greening disease and severe weather events.
Rising inflation has exacerbated the price increases.
As stocks of frozen orange juice concentrate dwindle, some manufacturers may need to consider alternative fruits like mandarins to make orange juice, though transitioning would be a long process, according to industry representatives monitoring the crisis.
“Should this production forecast hold true, this will be the second-smallest crop since 1988-1989,” the report read.
“This is a crisis,” Kees Cools, president of the International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association (IFU), stated. “We’ve never seen anything like it, even during the big freezes and big hurricanes.”
