W19: Grapefruit Update

In W19 in the grapefruit landscape, it was reported that Labor Day has boosted fruit sales in New Zealand, but overall sales have been slow. Some merchants believe Mother's Day will have a driving effect on sales in W20. South African grapefruit was launched in the New Zealand market in W18, and the price already dropped in W19.

The State of Florida in the United States produced on average 200M oranges and 50M grapefruit boxes per season in the past two decades. The federal forecast on May 5, 2023 gave grapefruit production a slight increase, putting it at an estimated 1.8M boxes this 2023 season, up from the March forecast that reported 1.6M and the April forecast that reported 1.7M. Further, a scientist with a career in Florida citrus production will lead research from the state's renowned grapefruit production region. The IRREC horticultural research program will focus on citrus trees under protective screenhouses (CUPS) to protect them from citrus greening. Zambon will continue variety trials and visual disease detection workshops for fieldworkers. She grafted grapefruit and mandarin trees with infected HLB buds and quantified gene expression before visual symptoms appeared.