By Jon Dale and Salvador Contreras
Texas Border Business
Hurricane Irma serves to remind us that events far away can have consequences far beyond its devastating path. In addition to flooding and downed electrical lines, Florida’s economy must also cope with the damage that the storm has brought to an already-reeling citrus industry hit hard by disease. The United States has seen a decline in sales of domestically produced orange and grapefruit over the past 25 years. The decline has come at a time when prices for these two citrus fruits have been increasing. Economics 101 tells us that as prices increase supply also increases. This appears to not be the case for the US citrus industry. This piece focuses on the worsening epidemic caused by Huanglongbing (aka citrus greening) and the effect that this disease is having on the industry.
We present a historical account of grapefruit and oranges sales and prices. Then we present an account of the disease, its occurrence to date in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) citrus industry, containment plans, industry efforts, and offer recommendations that can help protect one of the RGVs most important crops.
Grapefruit
Figure 1 presents historical prices received for grapefruit measured in dollars per box. The top line is for the US, followed by California, Florida, and Texas. On average Florida and Texas grapefruit command lower prices relative to the US and California. 2017 data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that Texas grapefruit commands $11 per box per tree equivalent. All prices presented here are tree equivalent prices. Similar to Florida and below the $17 of California and $19 for the US.
Figure 1: Grapefruit prices
Source: US Department of Agriculture
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