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USDA Reports Smaller Florida Orange Crop

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Oct 10, 2008 10:00 pm US/Eastern

USDA Reports Smaller Florida Orange Crop

ORLANDO (CBS4) ―

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Despite a predicted drop in Florida crops Friday, orange juice prices are expected to stay the same or possibly drop in price.

Experts are attributing a combination of disappearing grove land, hurricanes and crop disease to this decrease in production. A 2.5 percent drop in Florida's crop, which is mostly used for orange juice, is expected. As a whole the country production is expected to have a 10 percent decrease. The U.S. Department of Agriculture expected Florida to produce 166 million boxes of oranges, and the entire country was forecast to produce 211.7 million boxes.

California's crops, which are mostly sold as fruit, are also down.

Consumers have been paying record prices for orange juice: an average of $6 a gallon for the refrigerated varieties according to one study. However, officials at the Florida Department of Citrus say when you look at world supply, it's about the same this year, and there are "ample" inventories.