AGRICULTURE
LOCAL CITRUS, CATTLE INDUSTRIES
HOLDING OWN AGAINST PANDEMIC
14
TCBusiness.com
FLORIDA DEPT. OF CITRUS
Most of the oranges harvested in Florida groves are made into juice, and of that juice, 80 percent is sold fresh and 20 percent is sold as frozen concentrate.
The two big agricultural industries on
the Treasure Coast, citrus and cattle, have
so far weathered the impact of COVID-19,
even as cattle prices plunged in March and
April and as growers and packers are on
guard for the pandemic’s affect once the
citrus season resumes in October, industry
participants said.
Day-to-day life for citrus growers and
cattle ranchers and their workers has not
changed much since the virus began to
significantly affect life in Florida in mid-
March. Both citrus and cattle producers
on the Treasure Coast are busiest from
October until about mid-March. Plus, for
cattle ranchers, there’s a lot of wide-open
outdoor space and little human-to-human
contact, said Alec Wynne, owner and
veterinarian of Wynne Ranch in western St.
Lucie County.
People wanting to boost their immune
systems have pushed sales of orange
juice and grapefruit juice higher in recent
months, said Doug Bournique, executive
vice president of the nonprofit industry
advocate Indian River Citrus League.
Sales of juice to restaurants and other
industrial customers is down, but overall
sales are up because about 80 percent
of citrus juice and whole fruit sales in
the area are bound for retail consumers,
Bournique said.
In a four-week period ending June 6,
Florida orange juice retail sales rose 24
percent from the same period in 2019, at
the equivalent of 34.65 million gallons,
and were up a whopping 46 percent in
four weeks ending April 9, according
to retail sales tracker Nielsen Holdings.
Grapefruit sales ending June 6 rose 2 percent
and for the four weeks ending April
9, rose 25 percent. Bournique said Indian
River area sales are in line with overall
state data. The Indian River area has a
heavier presence of grapefruit than Florida
in general, where oranges dominate. Most
of the state’s and the area’s citrus is made
into fresh juice.
MORE COVID CASES THIS FALL
Across Florida, about 90 percent of citrus
is sold to retail consumers, said Shelley
Rossetter, spokeswoman for the Florida
Department of Citrus.
Greg Nelson, president of Egan Fruit
Packing based in Fort Pierce with a packing
house in Fellsmere, said none of Egan’s
workers have come down with COVID-19.
But, he adds that cases are likely over time,
particularly when the picking and packing
season begins in October. Nelson said
his employees are and will continue to
have regular temperature checks and be
required to wear masks.
“I fully expect that there will be more
cases developing in this area and among >>
BY BERNIE WOODALL
/TCBusiness.com