Summary

The Florida citrus industry encompasses a range of economic activities, including fruit production in 27 counties of central and south Florida, fresh fruit grading, packing and shipping to domestic and international markets, fruit processing for juice extraction and bulk shipment, and juice packaging for retail distribution. Florida citrus bearing grove area declined from over 750,000 acres in the year 2000 to around 381,000 acres in 2020, a reduction of 49 percent, while production volume utilized declined by 75 percent, primarily due to losses from citrus greening disease (also known as Huanglongbing or HLB), which was introduced to the state in 2005. The purpose of this study is to estimate the economic contributions of the citrus industry in the state of Florida for the 2019-2020 marketing year, to update previous studies for the 2018-19 and 2017-18 marketing years. The analysis was conducted using the IMPLAN© regional economic modeling system and associated databases (IMPLAN Group, LLC) with modifications for multi-industry contribution analysis (Cheney, 2016), to estimate the broad regional economic contributions of the industry, including economic multipliers that capture the economic activity generated in other sectors through the industry supply chain and by re-spending of income generated from the sale of Florida citrus products.

During the 2019-20 marketing year, 73.2 million boxes of citrus fruit were produced in Florida, including 67.3 million boxes of oranges, 4.9 million boxes of grapefruit, and 1 million boxes of specialty citrus, of which 8 percent was sold in the fresh market and 92 percent was utilized for processing. The total grower value of citrus fruit was over $947 million, with fruit for processing valued at nearly $861 million and fruit for fresh consumption valued at nearly $86 million, based on delivered prices. Florida citrus juice processors produced 701 million gallons of citrus juice in 2019-20, with a total producer value of $2.973 billion (free on board [F.O.B.] price basis). Florida citrus processors also produced byproducts of citrus pulp, meal, molasses, and the essential oil d-Limonene, valued at over $59 million.

The economic contribution analysis estimated total industry output contributions of $6.665 billion, including $1.720 billion from citrus fruit production, $4.741 billion from citrus juice manufacturing, and $204 million for fresh citrus marketing. The citrus industry supported a total of 32,481 fulltime and part-time jobs in the state. Total value-added contributions, estimated at $2.715 billion, represent the industry’s contribution to Gross State Product. Labor income contributions amounted to $1.500 billion, representing earnings by employees and business owners. Total state and local tax contributions of the Florida citrus industry were $140 million. The Southern production area had the highest share of citrus industry employment contributions (9,699 jobs), followed by Western (6,808 jobs), Central (5,478), Northern (4,863 jobs), Indian River (2,721 jobs), and the rest of Florida (2,912 jobs).