The supply of oranges in the United States and internationally is being affected due to pests and bad weather. Furthermore, to make matters worse, the demand for orange juice, which had been declining for years, skyrocketed in the pandemic.
On the other hand, the demand for orange juice, which had been reduced for years, skyrocketed during the pandemic. This caused orange juice prices to rise during the pandemic, and will most likely continue to rise.
The increase in orange juice prices is occurring at a time when consumers struggle with inflation in multiple sectors.
The rate of US consumer prices increased 7% over the past year, which is the steepest increase in prices since June 1982, as reported the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
During the past year, food consumed at home rose in price by 6.5%, while prices in restaurants increased by 6%.
Likewise, the prices of fruit juices and non-alcoholic beverages have already shot up 5.7% this year.
Less supply
Last week, the US Department of Agriculture said it expects Florida to produce 44.5 million boxes of oranges this year, a harvest that is unusually small. That would be the lowest production since the season that started the year 1944 when they were produced 42.23 million boxes.
Florida’s orange crops, which provide most of the country’s orange juice, have been declining for years. One of the reasons is a citrus pest that makes the oranges smaller and the tree bears less fruit.
By having smaller oranges, less juice is obtained, which means that the companies that make this product have to buy more oranges to obtain the same amount of juice that comes from a normal fruit.
More demand
Before the pandemic, the demand in the US for juice of orange had decreased for 20 years in a row. That was in part because consumers were becoming more health-conscious, which has led to less consumption of fruit juice, which is relatively high in sugar and calories. It was also because, over the years, many Americans stopped eating breakfast regularly at home.
However, during the pandemic, many people returned to eating breakfast at home and some have included orange juice on the menu again.
Due to this, sales of non-concentrated 100% juices in the US increased by $5,000 to $5,1944 million in 2020, and remained at that level in almost everything 2021, according to CNN.
Therefore, with less supply and more demand, orange juice prices are expected to continue to rise.
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