Citrus crops across the Sunshine State are in a world of hurt, as back-to-back hurricanes and one of the most serious plant diseases plague oranges and their prices.
“Milton came across the center of the state and really impacted probably 70% of the most productive citrus acreage in Florida,” Florida Citrus Mutual CEO Matt Joyner said on “Cavuto: Coast to Coast,” Tuesday.
“We’d already been struggling, three hurricanes in the last seven years, plus fighting citrus greening, one of the most detrimental diseases known to citrus worldwide for the past two decades, has really put this industry back on its heels for sure.”
New estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that Florida’s citrus crop was struggling before Hurricane Milton, with the cyclone expected to further exacerbate the challenges that growers now face.