February 11, 2009 5:29 PM
- Text
Calif. Citrus Crops In Peril After Freeze
(CBS/AP)
From Valentine's Day bouquets to Super Bowl spreads, shoppers soon will be feeling the sting of higher prices from a wave of icy weather that has hit California farms.
As much as three-quarters of the state's citrus crop withered in the field during the cold snap, but nearly every winter crop, from avocados to fresh-cut flowers, has suffered severely.
The damage to the citrus crops alone is estimated at nearly $1 billion, officials told CBS News correspondent Steve Futterman.
The shortages' impact wasn't lost on Joseph Vasquez, who realized what it could mean for his party plans with NFL playoffs in full swing.
"Avocados are expensive enough as it is," the 32-year-old Pasadena school teacher said. "We may have to do without guacamole for a while. And we may be drinking our Coronas without limes."
Price hikes still won't be enough to offset the damage, as growers cope with losses following four consecutive nights of subfreezing temperatures.
On Tuesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked the federal government for disaster aid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Small Business Administration for growers and other affected businesses.
"This is not just about the crop this year. It could also have a devastating effect next year," Schwarzenegger said after touring a devastated orange grove in Fresno. "My administration will make sure that we do everything we can to help the farmers and workers get through this."
The state's citrus industry stands to take the biggest economic hit of all crops.
California is the nation's No. 1 producer of fresh citrus, growing about 86 percent of lemons and 21 percent of oranges sold in the U.S., according to the California Farm Bureau. Florida produces more citrus overall, mostly for use in orange juice, according to the USDA.
Growers say more than 70 percent of this season's oranges, lemons and tangerines were still on the trees as nighttime temperatures in California's Central Valley dipped into the low 20s and teens beginning Friday. The fruit is threatened whenever the mercury falls below 28 degrees.
"Limited amounts were harvested before the freeze, so it's not like the markets are going to dry up suddenly," said Claire Smith, a spokeswoman for Sunkist Growers Inc., a Los Angeles-based cooperative owned by some 6,000 growers in California and Arizona.
Still, the diminished supply is bound to drive up prices, Smith said. Sunkist may import oranges and other fruit from South Africa and other countries.
As much as three-quarters of the state's citrus crop withered in the field during the cold snap, but nearly every winter crop, from avocados to fresh-cut flowers, has suffered severely.
The damage to the citrus crops alone is estimated at nearly $1 billion, officials told CBS News correspondent Steve Futterman.
The shortages' impact wasn't lost on Joseph Vasquez, who realized what it could mean for his party plans with NFL playoffs in full swing.
"Avocados are expensive enough as it is," the 32-year-old Pasadena school teacher said. "We may have to do without guacamole for a while. And we may be drinking our Coronas without limes."
Price hikes still won't be enough to offset the damage, as growers cope with losses following four consecutive nights of subfreezing temperatures.
On Tuesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked the federal government for disaster aid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Small Business Administration for growers and other affected businesses.
"This is not just about the crop this year. It could also have a devastating effect next year," Schwarzenegger said after touring a devastated orange grove in Fresno. "My administration will make sure that we do everything we can to help the farmers and workers get through this."
The state's citrus industry stands to take the biggest economic hit of all crops.
California is the nation's No. 1 producer of fresh citrus, growing about 86 percent of lemons and 21 percent of oranges sold in the U.S., according to the California Farm Bureau. Florida produces more citrus overall, mostly for use in orange juice, according to the USDA.
Growers say more than 70 percent of this season's oranges, lemons and tangerines were still on the trees as nighttime temperatures in California's Central Valley dipped into the low 20s and teens beginning Friday. The fruit is threatened whenever the mercury falls below 28 degrees.
"Limited amounts were harvested before the freeze, so it's not like the markets are going to dry up suddenly," said Claire Smith, a spokeswoman for Sunkist Growers Inc., a Los Angeles-based cooperative owned by some 6,000 growers in California and Arizona.
Still, the diminished supply is bound to drive up prices, Smith said. Sunkist may import oranges and other fruit from South Africa and other countries.
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