WSJ -- Florida's Agricultural Industry May Face $1 Billion in Damages.
September 8, 2004
Florida's Agricultural Industry May Face $1 Billion in Damages
A WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE NEWS ROUNDUP
Hurricane Frances may cost Florida's agriculture industry $800 million to $1 billion in lost craps after the storm cut through nearly half the state's farms, according to preliminary estimates.
Frances made landfall in the heart of the Indian River Citrus District on the Atlantic Coast where most of Florida's $205 million grapefruit crop is grown.
The state Department of Agriculture was still assessing the damage and didn't expect firm estimates until later this week. About 20,000 farms were in the path of Frances, said Liz Compton, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Agriculture. "Some weren't impacted greatly," she said.
Futures prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were mixed Wednesday as traders continued to digest news about the damage caused by the hurricane. November lumber settled $9.40 lower to $383.10 for each 1,000 feet of board. Earlier, lumber hit a high of $395.60.
December cotton rose 3.7 cents to 53.12 cents a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange on fears that Frances seriously damaged portions of cotton crops in the southeast. Traders are also worried about whether a new hurricane, Ivan, will head to the region in a few days. Earlier in the session, the contract hit an intraday high of $54.25.
Frozen concentrated orange juice for November gained 1.5 cents to 79.40 cents a pound at the New York Board of Trade. The contract closed at $79.25, up 2.9 cents, yesterday, the first trading day after Frances became the second hurricane in three weeks to hit Florida citrus crops.
Frances may have destroyed or damaged two-thirds of Florida's $205 million grapefruit crop. Preliminary estimates also say the storm may have caused $350 million to $400 million in damages to Florida's $1.5 billion nursery business and $200 million in losses to the state's timber industry, Ms. Compton said.
"We know that on the citrus side, that the fresh fruit industry is probably looking at some severe losses," Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson, who planned to tour ravaged areas, said Wednesday.
Florida produces three-quarters of the grapefruit in the U.S., the world's largest producer of the fruit. Half of Florida's grapefruit is turned into juice, while the rest is sold fresh with most shipped to markets abroad. "Some growers are reporting to us that they lost 50% to 100% of their fruit," said Casey Pace, a spokeswoman for Florida Citrus Mutual, the state's largest growers group.
On Wednesday, PepsiCo Inc.'s Tropicana Beverages North America unit said Frances' rampage inflicted only minor damage on the company's manufacturing and distribution plants. In a press release, Tropicana said in the wake of Frances it faces some "challenges" moving products in and out of Florida but expects to return to full capabilities in the next few days.
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