Orange Juice Costs Surge, Threatening Breakfast Staple

• Ongoing supply shortages have driven orange juice prices to record highs, prompting the sector to consider alternative fruits due to the crisis.
• Climate-related harsh weather in Brazil's major orange-producing regions and dwindling production in Florida have contributed to the sharp rise in orange juice prices.
• As the largest producer and exporter of orange juice globally, Brazil's agricultural impact on the global market is significant, with prices on the Intercontinental Exchange nearly doubling in the past year.

Due to ongoing supply shortages, orange juice prices have reached new all-time highs, sending the sector into crisis mode and compelling some producers to look at using other fruits.

The price of this morning staple has been rising sharply in recent years, in part due to climate-related harsh weather in Brazil's major orange-producing regions and dwindling production in Florida, the United States' leading producer of orange juice.

Being the greatest producer and exporter of orange juice worldwide, the agricultural superpower of South America has a significant impact on the development of the global market.

On the Intercontinental Exchange in New York, the benchmark frozen concentrated orange juice futures ended at $4.77 a pound on Wednesday. That is almost twice the amount that was paid a year earlier.

According to Harry Campbell, a commodities market data analyst at research firm Mintec, producers and blenders have been compelled to adjust to the current circumstances by taking into account substitute fruit juices.

Impact of Climate Change and Disease on Brazil's Orange Harvest

Brazil's record heat this past year meant that the South American nation was probably going to have one of its worst orange harvests in over thirty years, according to a recent warning from the research institute Fundecitrus.

The citrus producers group predicted in a research released on May 10 that Brazil will produce 232.4 million boxes of oranges in the 2024-2025 season, with each box weighing around 40.8 kg. Compared to the prior cycle, that is a 24% reduction.

Despite the fact that agricultural productivity has been drastically lowered by climate change, analysts estimate that Brazil normally produces 300 million boxes of oranges per cycle. Extreme weather events are becoming more common and powerful due to climate change.

According to Fundecitrus, a string of extreme heatwaves that struck Brazil between September and November of last year during a crucial time for blooming and early fruit development severely hampered production.

Orange growers have also faced challenges from a citrus disease called "greening," a tree disease that produces bitter, stunted fruit and has no recognized treatment. Experts have cautioned that for some time to come, the issue is probably going to cause havoc in orange orchards all over the world.

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