Now I know why oranges are so expensive.

I recently read a great article in Slate magazine about the demise of the Florida Citrus industry. Now, this is important to me because I like fresh, squeezed orange juice every morning. Where I live, I pay an average of $9.00 per bag of oranges; I buy 3 bags a week.

Thanks to the article, here is where it gets interesting. In 2003, the Florida orange industry produced 242 million boxes, with 90 pounds of oranges per box. This year, the forecast is 12 million boxes of oranges, a 95% decline. Again, thanks to the article, the reasons for this are various bacterial issues, and more than anything else, land sold for real estate. I’ve driven through these endless real estate plots with catchy titles like “Valencia Acres” and my favorite, “Corkscrew Grove”.

Since I don’t like processed orange juice, oranges will eventually be priced out of my budget. However, there was a ray of sunshine at Costco here when it had a gigantic delivery of fresh oranges marked down to $3.00 a bag. I bought 3 bags. When I went back for another load, they were $7.00 a bag; now they are back up. Maybe next year they will be less expensive. At least I don’t smoke and worry about the price of tobacco.