How to Read the USDA Citrus Fruits Summary — Production, Value, Box Weights and Equivalent Returns

As of 3 November 2026, 00:31 KST; most recently published report: Citrus Fruits 2025 Summary from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), covering the 2025-2026 citrus season with revised 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 figures. The publication listing confirms the August 27, 2026 release; the NASS release-day page lists the same date; the sources used give no time of day, and the publication page, which lists the report as annual, showed no next date when checked at 00:31 KST. Primary source: https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/796038/cfrt0826.txt^[1][2][3]

Comparison basis: levels are as published; in the table above, the first two rows and bearing acreage come from the all-citrus tables (tons, dollars, acres) and the orange and tangerine rows from the crop tables; the text rounds levels (5,299 thousand tons becomes 5.30 million). Published changes are whole percentages; this page's calculated changes for the selected rows are rounded half up to one decimal from the table levels. For utilized production, NASS text says up 6% while the published table levels (4,975 to 5,299 thousand tons) give 6.5%; in this report, no explanation of the difference is provided. Prices and values are at the packinghouse-door equivalent level unless stated. Because the series is annual, the previous and year-ago columns are the same comparison. The report, publication page and release-day page are all from USDA and count as one source.^[1]

In three lines

1. The annual NASS citrus summary gives bearing acreage, utilized production (fresh and processed), prices and value for oranges, grapefruit, lemons and tangerines and mandarins by state.
2. In 2025-2026, utilized citrus production was 5.30 million tons (up 6%), worth $3.15 billion (up 11%); California produced 84%.
3. Orange output rose but orange value fell 8%, while tangerine and mandarin value rose 44%.^[1]

"Citrus utilized production for the 2025-26 season totaled 5.30 million tons, up 6 percent from the 2024-25 season." "California accounted for 84 percent of total United States citrus production; Florida totaled 13 percent, and Texas and Arizona produced the remaining 3 percent." "The value of the 2025-26 United States citrus crop increased 11 percent from last season, to $3.15 billion (packinghouse-door equivalent)." "Orange value of production decreased 8 percent from last season and grapefruit value is up 6 percent."^[1]

States. "California's all orange production, at 49.5 million boxes, is 16 percent higher than the previous season." "Florida's orange production, at 13.0 million boxes, is up 5 percent from the previous season." For Florida: "Bearing citrus acreage, at 144,900 acres, is 43,500 acres below the 2024-25 season."^[1]

Season and prices. "The crop year 2025-26 as shown on all citrus tables in this publication refers to the crop which bloomed in 2025 and was marketed during the 2025-26 season." "Marketing year average prices refer to the prices received by growers for the entire marketing season for any one crop year." "PHD prices are calculated by subtracting costs incurred through the packinghouse from the FOB price."^[1]

Oranges: more boxes, lower value. All-orange utilized production rose 13.6% to 63,540 thousand boxes while the price per box fell 19.3% to $15.41, and value fell 8.4% to $979,001 thousand (this page's calculations). Value reflects prices and quantities; the displayed U.S. price times displayed boxes need not exactly reproduce published value ($15.41 times 63,540 thousand boxes gives $979,151 thousand against the published $979,001 thousand, this page's calculation), because U.S. value is summed from state values. In this report, no attribution of the price change to causes is provided.^[1]

Tons vs boxes. The all-citrus totals and the crop-by-crop overview are in tons; the detailed orange, grapefruit, lemon and tangerine tables are in boxes, and a box weighs 80 pounds for California oranges, 90 for Florida and 85 for Texas. Converting the 2025-2026 orange boxes with these weights gives about 2,609 thousand tons against 2,610 in the crop table (this page's calculation). "Monthly and marketing year average prices are weighted by box size at the United States level for oranges, grapefruit, and tangerines and mandarins."^[1]

Monthly prices vs marketing year prices. "Revised monthly prices refer to all fruit sold in a given month regardless of the crop year in which the fruit was harvested." Marketing year averages cover one crop year, so monthly prices and season averages can differ for the same months. Equivalent returns deduct picking, hauling, packing and other costs: "In some cases, this results in negative returns." For example, the U.S. on-tree return for processed lemons was -$2.54 per box and for processed tangerines and mandarins -$1.70 in 2025-2026; these are calculated returns, not negative sale prices.^[1]

Text vs tables and like-for-like comparisons. The text rounds Florida's 12,950 thousand boxes of oranges to 13.0 million and the U.S. 5,299 thousand tons to 5.30 million. "Overall comparisons discussed above are based on similar fruit types." The Florida and U.S. lemon rows are not like-for-like across all three seasons: "Florida estimates are included beginning with 2024-2025 marketing year."^[1]

Preliminary vs revised. "Estimates for the 2025-26 California Valencia oranges and grapefruit are preliminary, since the marketing season is not complete at publication time." "Revisions to the utilized production estimates for all citrus for the 2025-26 season will be published in the April 2027 Crop Production." The methodology adds: "Current season estimates are open for revision in April and August." On non-sampling errors: "These errors cannot be measured directly, but are minimized through rigid quality controls in the data collection process and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness." In this report, no numeric error measure is provided.^[1]