{"id":4112,"date":"2014-08-19T13:19:01","date_gmt":"2014-08-19T17:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/newsroom\/?post_type=fdoc-news-item&p=283"},"modified":"2014-08-19T13:19:01","modified_gmt":"2014-08-19T17:19:01","slug":"in-the-news-oj-sales-crop-forecast-down","status":"publish","type":"fdoc-news-item","link":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/fdoc-news-item\/in-the-news-oj-sales-crop-forecast-down\/","title":{"rendered":"In the news: OJ sales, crop forecast down"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A\u00a0Wall Street Journal<\/a>:<\/strong>\u00a0article by Alexander Wexler reports that U.S. orange juice sales have fallen to a record low. The article states that \u201cconsumers bought 34.96 million gallons of orange juice in the four weeks ended Aug. 2, down 9.2% from a similar period a year ago,\u201d according to Nielsen. Further, the article notes that orange juice sales have been slipping for years due to higher prices and an increase in the availability of more exotic fruit juices and flavored waters. Of note, similar coverage appeared on\u00a0FreshPlaza.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\u00a0Quartz.com<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0article by Daniel Medina entitled, \u201cAmerica\u2019s relationship with orange juice continues to sour,\u201d covers the record low orange juice sales, as reported by\u00a0The Wall Street Journal<\/em>. The article cites weak demand, low crop yields and high prices as reasons behind struggling sales. Additionally, the article blames orange juice\u2019s caloric content for record low sales: \u201cIn addition to its high price tag, orange juice is sugary and high in calories. An average cup (8 oz) of orange juice contains roughly 20 grams of sugar and 112 calories, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.\u201d Of note, similar coverage appeared on\u00a0RedEyeChicago.com<\/a>\u00a0but does not address the sugar issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CBSNews.com<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0also reported on orange juice sales data, noting that orange juice sales have fallen to a record low, according to\u00a0The Wall Street Journal<\/em>. In reference to reasons behind the demise of orange juice, the article cites competition from \u201cfresher-sounding\u201d juices, high prices, lack of consumer interest in eating breakfast and dietary concerns over consumption of calorie laden drinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\u00a0FoxBusiness.com<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0article by Gabrielle Karol entitled, \u201cThe Real Reason You Stopped Buying Orange Juice,\u201d also discusses the record low orange juice sales, according to recent data from Nielsen and the Florida Department of Citrus. Commentary from David Steele on the impact of citrus greening on juice production and supply of Florida oranges is included along with message points on the nutrition benefits of orange juice. The article reports that although orange juice prices have increased 4.1% this year, nutrition experts have been recommending consumers cut back on \u201cthe sugary fruit drink\u201d to reduce consumers overall consumption of sugar. Alissa Rumsey, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is featured saying, \u201cthe average cup of orange juice contains about 21 grams of sugar. In contrast, a whole medium orange has about 11 grams of sugar, plus 3 grams of fiber missing in a glass of juice\u201d and suggests, \u201cHealth concerns and the market being flooded with more options \u2026 is part of the reason you\u2019re seeing the decline.\u201d Steele is quoted with an opposing view on the juice\u2019s health benefits, stating \u201cOne serving of [orange] juice has more than 100% of your recommended daily intake of Vitamin C. Dietitians recognize that Americans are under-consuming fruit and vegetables.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\u00a0Ledger<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0article by Kevin Bouffard discusses the decline in orange juice sales: \u201cOrange juice appears to be battling a spreading perception among U.S. consumers that it has too much sugar and calories as well as increasing competition from other beverages favored by younger consumers, such as sports and energy drinks.\u201d The article features commentary from FDOC spokesperson David Steele on how the agency\u2019s marketing campaign is addressing the sugar issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bouffard\u2019s piece was later picked up by\u00a0HeraldTribune.com<\/a>. Of note, similar coverage appeared on\u00a0DailyCommercial.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An article at\u00a0GrowingProduce.com<\/a>:<\/strong>\u00a0discusses citrus crop projections for 2014-2015, citing that analysts expect crop yields to be some of the smallest on record. The article references Elizabeth Steger of Orlando-based Citrus Consulting International who estimated 89 million boxes and finance and investment firm, Louis Dreyfus Citrus Inc., who estimated 96.6 million boxes \u2013 both figures among the smallest Florida crop yields since 1964-1965. The article notes that the USDA is scheduled to release its 2014-2015 Florida citrus crop projection on October 10th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An earlier\u00a0Wall Street Journal<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0article by Leslie Josephs shares orange juice and coffee sales data, reporting that prices rose recently as a result of \u201ctight supplies.\u201d The article notes that Florida recently yielded its smallest crop in 49 years, due in part to citrus greening. Further, the article states that U.S. retail sales of OJ have been dropping due to greater competition in the juice aisle and higher prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0DailyCommercial<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0discusses the state of the Florida orange crop, noting citrus consultant Elizabeth Steger\u2019s has predicted the smallest crop in 50 years. Michael Sparks of Florida Citrus Mutual and Marty McKenna of Florida Citrus Commission are both quoted reacting to Steger\u2019s prediction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A\u00a0Wall Street Journal:\u00a0article by Alexander Wexler reports that U.S. orange juice sales have fallen to a record low. The article states that \u201cconsumers bought 34.96 million gallons of orange juice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","fdoc_news_item_category":[106,105],"fdoc_citrus_type":[107],"fdoc_health_category":[],"class_list":["post-4112","fdoc-news-item","type-fdoc-news-item","status-publish","hentry","fdoc_news_item_category-citrus-greening","fdoc_news_item_category-crop-forecasts","fdoc_citrus_type-orange"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fdoc-news-item\/4112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fdoc-news-item"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fdoc-news-item"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"fdoc_news_item_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fdoc_news_item_category?post=4112"},{"taxonomy":"fdoc_citrus_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fdoc_citrus_type?post=4112"},{"taxonomy":"fdoc_health_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fdoc_health_category?post=4112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}