Organic Citrus Volume Down, But Bagged Promotions Expected

This season’s California citrus crop has been hit with a relatively poor fruit set as well as significant thrip damage, which causes scarring on the fruit but doesn't impact the interior. The expected result is as much as 35 percent less fruit but more opportunities for promotional pricing on bagged options. This is the case for both organic and conventional production.

“We are having frank and transparent conversations with retailers,” said Craig Morris, citrus and grape category director for Homegrown Organic Farms in Porterville, California. “We have explained the issue with thrips and are telling them we are hitting it with every available tool with marginal success. We are hoping that they can relax their receiving standards a bit so we can market more of the crop.”

Craig Morris, Citrus & Grape Category Director, Homegrown Organic Farms

Morris said that while the scarring does not impact eating quality, it does present challenges on retail presentation as scarred fruit does not display well in bulk. “Bagged fruit can mask the problem a bit, and once the consumer takes it home and cuts it open, there is no problem at all,” he said.

“Across the organic citrus category, when comparing yields this year with last year on a grove-to-grove basis, the organic category is down about 30 percent, with lemons and navels hurt the most.”

Morris, however, reiterated that even with the drop in volume, there should be good promotional opportunities, especially on navels, Cara Caras, and mandarins.

Homegrown is expecting to harvest organic navels by the last week of October, with promotable volume by about November 10. Morris expects volume on mandarins to be sufficient for promotion in the December–March time frame.

“Across the organic citrus category, when comparing yields this year with last year on a grove-to-grove basis, the organic category is down about 30 percent, with lemons and navels hurt the most.” – Craig Morris

Morris believes Homegrown Organic Farms has the most robust organic citrus lineup in California, noting that besides the top four categories (navels, lemons, mandarins, and grapefruit), the company offers several specialty organic citrus options, including blood oranges, pomelos, and Cara Caras. While lemons were hit the hardest by thrips, Morris noted that there was an oversupply of organic lemons last year, so this year’s decreased volume should still allow for an in-sync supply and demand situation and lead to solid pricing.

Morris said organic grapefruit is showing the least amount of volume decrease: “It’s looking like a good, solid crop with promotional opportunities from December to March.”

Bianca Kaprielian, co-founder of Fruit World Company in Reedley, California, gave a similar organic citrus report concerning the significant decrease in volume.

Bianca Kaprielian, Co-Founder, Fruit World Company

“Overall, what we are seeing is that the volume is down,” she said. “For us, the least impacted [crop] is lemons; the most impacted [crops] are the Tango mandarins.”

Growers were hit with heat spikes in the spring, which impacted fruit set, and then a high concentration of thrips, which caused scarring. “We are leaning on the retail trade asking them to educate the consumers and hoping that they will be open to accepting the thrip scarring,” she said. “It is a cosmetic defect that has no impact on the eating quality.”

There will be a higher percentage of choice grade fruit and more bagged citrus on the market this year. “We think there will be good promotional opportunities on bagged citrus all season long,” Kaprielian said. “Navel oranges should offer promotional opportunities at least until January. After that, we expect organic navel supplies to tighten up quite a bit.”

The early-season varieties of organic mandarins—clementines and satsumas—will offer promotional opportunities, but the spring volume of Tangos and Murcotts might not. “By the end of March, mandarins will be tight,” she predicted.

“We are leaning on the retail trade asking them to educate the consumers and hoping that they will be open to accepting the thrip scarring. It is a cosmetic defect that has no impact on the eating quality.” – Bianca Kaprielian

Both Kaprielian and Morris expressed concern that this year’s issues are part of a trend and not just a one-season phenomenon.

Concerning the heat spikes that impacted the spring bloom, Kaprielian indicated that the climate has changed and is creating problems year after year. Citrus crops, she said, are historically an alternate-bearing crop, with a small crop one year followed by a large one the next. “We are seeing damaging weather patterns over multiple years, and we are not seeing the bounce back we used to get after a down year,” she observed.

The severity of the thrip problem is also weather related as the pests are thriving in the changing climatic conditions. Kaprielian noted that there was a thrip issue in 2022, and it is more severe in 2023. “I think it is going to be a pretty big issue for years to come,” she said. “Last year, we saw higher thrip populations, and there was a dramatic increase this year.”

Morris agrees, saying, “The rains created an environment for thrips to thrive, and the tools we have to manage the thrip populations have lost their efficacy. It’s an industry-wide problem. The increasing population of thrips is a trend. And you know California makes it extremely difficult to address the issue with new tools for conventional or organic growers.”