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Citrus growers short on laborers

Industry officials cited the talk of immigration crackdowns for their inability to find Hispanic workers.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 10, 2006

LAKELAND - As many as 6-million boxes of oranges may go unharvested in Florida this year because of a shortage of fruit pickers made worse by fears about what changes may come in immigration law.

The citrus season usually ends in late June, but will extend to at least late July this year with juice processors hoping to get as many oranges as possible off trees.

"There's very little doubt we'll leave a significant amount of fruit on the tree," said Mike Carlton, the director of production and labor affairs at Florida Citrus Mutual. "Whether that's 3-million boxes or 6-million boxes, nobody can say."

There were about 9-million boxes worth of Valencia oranges still on trees this week, the Ledger reported Sunday.

Orange production in the state could become the lowest since 1992 if the worst projections come true. That year, growers harvested 139.8-million boxes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is scheduled to release its final citrus crop projection Wednesday.

Its June 9 report forecast 153-million boxes of oranges.

Growers have reported difficulty finding enough workers. Industry officials say labor supply was tight from the beginning of the season in October, but grew worse by the middle of May when a large segment of the Hispanic labor force seemed to leave the state.

Industry officials cited the talk of immigration crackdowns for their inability to find Hispanic workers, who make up much of Florida's farm work force.

The state's largest processor, Tropicana Products Inc. in Bradenton, plans to stay open through July 21, said Peter Brace, a spokesman for parent company PepsiCo Inc. in Chicago.

[Last modified July 10, 2006, 06:10:03]