[Grapefruit has been plentiful, tasty, and cheap as of late so I've been
making more grapefruit juice lately...my local Chicago stupormart [Treasure
Island] has 96 oz Tropicana Pure Premium OJ "on sale" this week for $5.99,
not so long ago IIRC it was sometimes as low as 2 for $7.00 ]


http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...i-bizfront-hed

From the Los Angeles Times

Orange juice prices leave bitter taste

Shoppers are paying more after California's cold snap and Florida's
hurricanes and diseases thinned the crop.

By Jerry Hirsch
Times Staff Writer
Published March 16, 2007


"Tyler Fisher has a simple breakfast ritual. Toast with butter. A glass of
orange juice and no coffee. He's then prepared to face the 60 to 100 miles
of daily driving that comes with his job.

The Costa Mesa resident is used to paying high prices to fuel his car. Now
he's paying more to fuel himself - with orange juice.

The average retail price of orange juice - from fresh to frozen - has
increased in each of the last six months. As of Feb. 17, it was $5.76 a
gallon, 24% higher than a year earlier. Prices are expected to rise even
more this year.

Even smoothie lovers are paying more. Jamba Juice charges an extra 25 cents
for smoothies and juice blends with orange juice, and an extra 35 cents for
straight orange juice.

The chain said the charges would remain in place "until orange supplies are
once again plentiful."

Jamba refers to the extra fee as a "brrr charge," which it added in January
after a freeze in California's orange growing regions destroyed much of the
state's crop of fresh oranges.

The higher juice prices have put a crimp in Fisher's breakfast. "I have a
certain price that I like to spend and when it goes over, sometimes I
don't," said Fisher, a medical technology consultant.

Florida's citrus orchards have been ravaged by a series of hurricanes and
disease in recent years, which have pushed the state's harvest to its lowest
level in 17 years. Florida accounts for 70% of the orange juice that
Americans drink.

Right now, Fisher is tanking up with juice he reconstitutes from frozen
concentrate. A 12-ounce container of Minute Maid sells for $2 in the Ralphs
on Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach where Fisher shopped this week.

"I don't like going above $1.50," he said.

But even $2 is a deal compared with the price of fresh and
not-from-concentrate juice. Ralphs wants $7.99 for a half gallon of Odawalla
flash-pasteurized juice. Two cartons of Minute Maid from concentrate or
Tropicana not-from-concentrate can be had for $7.

"It used to be two cartons for $5 on sales and now it is two for $6 or $7,"
said Diana Bakken of Long Beach. The increases haven't stopped Bakken from
buying juice because it is just a once-a-week treat, served with Sunday
breakfast for her family of three, she said.

Americans buy about $3 billion worth of orange juice annually from grocery
stores and other mass retailers, according to market research firm
ACNielsen, which also provides the average price data.

That's down by more than 10% from four years ago.

Prices are expected to continue to climb, said Bob Norberg, deputy executive
director of the Florida Department of Citrus, a state marketing and
regulatory agency.

Both PepsiCo Inc., which owns the Tropicana brand, and Coca-Cola Co., which
owns the Minute Maid brand, increased prices in late 2006 and January. The
two companies control nearly two-thirds of the retail orange juice market.
"Prices still have some upward momentum," Norberg said.

What consumers are seeing in stores now is a catch-up with wholesale price
increases late last year and in January, and a reduction in the discounts
juice companies offer grocers to put their products on special, Norberg
said.

Tropicana raised its prices by 4% to 8% in January and slashed its discounts
to grocers. Minute Maid's prices jumped 9% to 11% over several months and it
also slashed discounts.

Another round of increases wouldn't be a surprise, Norberg said, given tight
global supplies. About 25% of U.S. supplies are imported. California, the
largest producer of fresh oranges, is only a small player in the juice
business.

Unless you own a tree, squeezing fresh oranges won't bring much relief from
the high prices. They're going up too. Because of the freeze, retail orange
prices in Southern California have jumped from about 60 cents a pound in
mid-December to $1 a pound or more this week.

According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report last week, Florida will
produce 132 million boxes of oranges this season. That's down from 147.7
million boxes a year earlier and about 220 million boxes before hurricanes
ripped through Florida groves in 2004 and 2005.

A large harvest couldn't come soon enough for Northridge retirees Joseph and
Sylvia Goldfarb. "I was in Trader Joe's a couple weeks ago and paid $1.99
for a carton, but when I went back a couple of days ago, it was $2.99,"
Joseph Goldfarb said.

He bought the juice despite the 50% increase because he and Sylvia have a
glass every morning.

Explains Sylvia Goldfab: "We've done that since we were kids."

</>

"Gregory Morrow" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> [Grapefruit has been plentiful, tasty, and cheap as of late so I've been
> making more grapefruit juice lately...my local Chicago stupormart
> [Treasure
> Island] has 96 oz Tropicana Pure Premium OJ "on sale" this week for $5.99,
> not so long ago IIRC it was sometimes as low as 2 for $7.00 ]


What does your store sell Tropicana Pure Premium grapefruit juice for?

"JoeSpareBedroom" > wrote in message
...
> "Gregory Morrow" > wrote in message
> ink.net...
> > [Grapefruit has been plentiful, tasty, and cheap as of late so I've been
> > making more grapefruit juice lately...my local Chicago stupormart
> > [Treasure
> > Island] has 96 oz Tropicana Pure Premium OJ "on sale" this week for
$5.99,
> > not so long ago IIRC it was sometimes as low as 2 for $7.00 ]
>
>
> What does your store sell Tropicana Pure Premium grapefruit juice for?
>
>

A Profit!

KW (Sorry JSB...couldn't control that one :-)

Gregory Morrow wrote:
>Grapefruit has been plentiful, tasty, and cheap as of late so I've
> been making more grapefruit juice lately...my local Chicago
> stupormart [Treasure Island] has 96 oz Tropicana Pure Premium OJ "on
> sale" this week for $5.99, not so long ago IIRC it was sometimes as
> low as 2 for $7.00
>
Good thing I don't really like orange juice! Wonder why the grapefruit
crops weren't similarly affected? I love grapefruit juice; most people find
it not sweet enough which is fine with me

Jill

Mark Thorson wrote:

> jmcquown wrote:
> >
> > Good thing I don't really like orange juice! Wonder why the
> > grapefruit crops weren't similarly affected?
>
> A big part of the reason is that nearly all of the orange
> production is in Florida and California. However, about
> a quarter of the grapefruit production in Texas, which
> produced slightly more grapefruit than California in
> 2005/6.
>
> For the details, see page 94 for oranges and page 76
> for grapefruit:
>
> http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications...ok/FTS2006.pdf


Thanks for the link. Around the holidays I always order a buncha mixed
citrus from Texas for my mom, staggering the order in three shipments
through February. She got her half - bushel of mixed oranges/grapefruit in
December, but the January and February shipments were grapefruit - only; a
note of apology was included with each box, saying that oranges were in very
short supply and so grapefruit were substituted. She loves grapefruit so
it's fine with her...

Locally here in Chicago Texas Ruby Reds have been abundant, plump, and very
cheap, they've been as low as 29 cents/lb....

BTW the place I order from is Pittman & Davis, they are in Harlingen:

www.pittmandavis.com

They have the best prices around, especially since SHIPPING IS INCLUDED. I
get lots of citrus catalogs every year from Florida, once you add in
shipping even their "special offers" are extortionate. I'm very pleased
with Pittman & Davis, if there is an issue with your order they will call
you about it...these daze that's good service.

In fact right this minute I'll think I'll squeeze a nice Ruby Red so as to
add the juice to some Ukrainian wodka, it's Friday after all...AAAH..

:-)

--
Best
Greg

jmcquown wrote:
>
> Good thing I don't really like orange juice! Wonder why the
> grapefruit crops weren't similarly affected?

A big part of the reason is that nearly all of the orange
production is in Florida and California. However, about
a quarter of the grapefruit production in Texas, which
produced slightly more grapefruit than California in
2005/6.

For the details, see page 94 for oranges and page 76
for grapefruit:

http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications...ok/FTS2006.pdf

Mark Thorson wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>> Good thing I don't really like orange juice! Wonder why the
>> grapefruit crops weren't similarly affected?
>
> A big part of the reason is that nearly all of the orange
> production is in Florida and California. However, about
> a quarter of the grapefruit production in Texas, which
> produced slightly more grapefruit than California in
> 2005/6.
>
> For the details, see page 94 for oranges and page 76
> for grapefruit:
>
> http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications...ok/FTS2006.pdf


That aside, I have heard for many years that the bulk of our orange
juice is made from Brazilian oranges, so why should a U.S. crop failure
have such an effect on the price of juice?

gloria p

"Puester" > wrote in message
...
> Mark Thorson wrote:
>> jmcquown wrote:
>>> Good thing I don't really like orange juice! Wonder why the
>>> grapefruit crops weren't similarly affected?
>>
>> A big part of the reason is that nearly all of the orange
>> production is in Florida and California. However, about
>> a quarter of the grapefruit production in Texas, which
>> produced slightly more grapefruit than California in
>> 2005/6.
>>
>> For the details, see page 94 for oranges and page 76
>> for grapefruit:
>>
>> http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications...ok/FTS2006.pdf
>
>
> That aside, I have heard for many years that the bulk of our orange juice
> is made from Brazilian oranges, so why should a U.S. crop failure have
> such an effect on the price of juice?
>
> gloria p

For the same reason you here this on the news:

"Oil jumped $3.00 a barrel on news of renewed violence in Shmengulahari".

Never mind that the violence was as related to oil as a fish is related to a
bicycle. Up goes the price because some futures trader was nervous.

Mark Thorson wrote:

> Gregory Morrow wrote:
> >
> > BTW the place I order from is Pittman & Davis, they are in Harlingen:
> >
> > www.pittmandavis.com
>
> I've had their grapefruit many times, and I
> heartily second that recommendation. Their
> grapefruit is the largest and sweetest I've
> ever had.


All their stuff is good, including their hams, turkeys, baked goods,
cheeses. They make a divine fruitcake - even someone who abhors fruitcake
will enjoy this one. Their dried fruit is succulent...

When I get their catalog I want to order *everything*, I know it will be
top - notch...and at a good price to boot.

--
Best
Greg

Gregory Morrow wrote:
>
> BTW the place I order from is Pittman & Davis, they are in Harlingen:
>
> www.pittmandavis.com

I've had their grapefruit many times, and I
heartily second that recommendation. Their
grapefruit is the largest and sweetest I've
ever had.

Mark Thorson wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>>
>> Good thing I don't really like orange juice! Wonder why the
>> grapefruit crops weren't similarly affected?
>
> A big part of the reason is that nearly all of the orange
> production is in Florida and California. However, about
> a quarter of the grapefruit production in Texas, which
> produced slightly more grapefruit than California in
> 2005/6.
>
Guess that makes sense! Never really thought about it. Citrus, ya know.

Jill