Florida Citrus Commission Approves $23.4 Million Budget

Last week on Thursday, the Florida Department of Citrus met, and one of the main outcomes was approval of a $23.4 million budget for the 2025–2026 fiscal year. The move comes as Florida’s citrus industry continues to recover from a year of historically low production.

The department had expected to receive the first U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast for the upcoming growing season, but that report was delayed because of the federal government shutdown.

A portion of the new budget will again come from the industry’s box tax on growers. Those rates will stay the same: five cents for fresh oranges, seven cents for grapefruit and specialty crops, and twelve cents for processed oranges.

Growers are still feeling the effects of hurricane damage, citrus greening disease, and development overtaking groves, which pushed last season’s harvest to its lowest level in more than a century.

Still, with $124.5 million in new state funding aimed at disease-resistant trees and grove recovery, industry leaders say they’re focused on rebuilding and moving forward.