http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/nov/19/treasure-coast-grapefruit-smaller-this-year-but/
Treasure Coast grapefruit smaller but sweeter, better profits expected
* By Paul Ivice
* Posted November 19, 2009 at 8:17 a.m.
VERO BEACH Grapefruit arriving at Treasure Coast packing houses are smaller than normal but sweeter.
Most of the 22 packing houses that are members of the Indian River Citrus League opened for the season in early October and have been running near or at full capacity since then. Indian River Exchange Packers Inc. started a couple of weeks earlier because it is the only packer of lemons in Florida, President George Hamner Jr. said.
Unlike other citrus areas in Florida that grow mostly oranges, half the Treasure Coast citrus crop is grapefruit, which represents about 70 percent of Floridas grapefruit. Most of that grapefruit is boxed and shipped as fresh fruit, primarily in three phases school fundraisers until early December, holiday gift packages and then overseas to Japan, other Asian countries and Europe.
Hamner and executives at three other packing houses agreed the grapefruit crop so far is small is both size and number, but exceptionally sweet.
A dry summer has kept the grapefruit from growing larger.
Theres plenty of growing room, so there shouldnt be a rush to pick it, said George Streetman, president of Hogan & Sons Inc. We need more rain, but theres still several months to grow before the season reaches its peak.
Dan Richey, president of Riverfront Groves Inc., said that in his 28 years in the business he has never seen such high internal quality characteristics for this time of year.
The Brix rating, a measurement of the dissolved sugar-to-water mass ratio of a liquid, is typically 8.5 to 9, Richey said. Now were seeing 10.5 to 11.5, with acid levels about normal, which is more favorable for flavor, he said.
Matt Kastensmidt, domestic sales manager at IMG Citrus, said the smaller crop is more in line with demand, which will result in better prices for growers than in recent years. Like most of the other packing houses, IMG Citrus also is a grower, with most of its 6,000 acres of groves in Indian River County.
The growers are starting to see a little more than break-even, Kastensmidt said.
Though the U.S. economy is still struggling, all four packing house executives agreed that profits from the exported citrus should be even better.
We are the beneficiaries of a weak dollar, so while the economy here is a challenge 75 percent of our exports are to countries with currencies that are strong against the dollar, Richey said. He also noted that shippers have lowered rates to attract more business.
