The price of orange juice in Australia is set to soar as bugs and bad weather in the Americas region puts the squeeze on consumers. With most of the Australia’s fruit juice concentrate coming from Brazil, farmers say the prices are only going to get worse as the country battles with a bout of greening disease along with drought. Combined with storms in Florida, Mildura Fruit Company director Richard Marr raised the alarm on the potential for prices to rise by at least 20 per cent.
Speaking to Ben Fordham’s 2GB program on Wednesday, Mr Marr said preserving Australia’s biosecurity from greening disease was “pretty darn important” for growers. Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion. “At this point it’s not here,” he reiterated on the program.
Information from the non-government Brazilian policy development agency Citrus Defence Fund, says 38 per cent of the plants in the country’s citrus belt have symptoms of the disease. The region is in the grips of drought, and about 60 per cent of groves rely on natural rainfall. The citrus belt accounts for about 83 per cent of the cultivated area in Brazil.
Mr Marr said Australian farmers grow about one per cent of the world’s oranges – enough to supply about half of our demand. Storms in Florida and drought in Brazil were forcing changes at supermarkets and fast food stores, he said. The lack of concentrate and juice meant some products would disappear from shelves, and o.