ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A serious grower stated this week it was abandoning its citrus rising operations, reflecting the headwinds Florida’s signature crops are dealing with following a sequence of hurricanes and tree illnesses.
Alico Inc. introduced Monday that it deliberate to wind down its citrus operations after the present crop is harvested later this 12 months. About 3,400 citrus acres (1,376 hectares) might be managed by third-party caretakers for one more season by means of 2026.
The corporate stated its citrus manufacturing had declined by 73% over the previous decade. The influence of Hurricanes Irma in 2017,Ian in 2022 and Milton in 2024 on timber already weakened from years of citrus greening illness “has led Alico to conclude that growing citrus is no longer economically viable for us in Florida,” stated John Kiernan, Alico’s president and CEO.
Alico anticipated to scale back its workforce by as much as 172 staff and has notified juice producer Tropicana about its resolution, in response to a U.S. Securities and Change Fee submitting.
Florida’s citrus manufacturing has been declining for the previous twenty years due to citrus illness and a few growers have been searching for different makes use of of their land.
Final month, agriculture officers stated Florida’s orange manufacturing forecast for the 2024-2025 season had dropped 20% from the earlier one in October, reflecting harm from Hurricane Milton. If the 12 million-box prediction holds, it is going to be 33% lower than final season’s closing manufacturing.