Spotlight on Citrus: A Cheery Outlook

Stretching from California to Florida and taking in parts of Texas and Arizona on the way, the U.S. citrus industry has long been known for its quality, consistency, and varietal innovations which drive the category forward.

But with swathes of the country continuing to battle citrus greening (also known as Huanglongbing or HLB), plus limited labor availability and rising input costs, the industry remains in flux—though there’s still ample potential for growth and solid demand.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), domestic growers produced just over 5.0 million tons of citrus during the 2024-25 season, a slight drop from 2023-24.

California continues to contribute the lion’s share at 84 percent, followed by Florida at 13 percent, and Texas and Arizona for the remaining 3 percent.

Although California orange production fell for season by nearly 1 percent to 45.2 million boxes, tangerine and mandarin volumes rose by 11 percent, while lemons and grapefruit increased by 5 percent each.

“The citrus industry has been doing well as far as movement is concerned, and overall demand has been good.”

Durable Demand

Abby Peltzer, communications manager at Exeter, CA-based California Citrus Mutual BB #:163392, an advocacy organization which represents California’s citrus growers, says the USDA data is very much in line with recent market trends.

Although navel oranges continue to be the top variety produced in California by acreage, mandarins have seen huge growth over recent years.

“Easy-peel mandarin varieties have seen the biggest increase in demand,” confirms Peltzer. “There’s still very strong demand for California navels domestically and across the world.”

Located in Fowler, CA, Bee Sweet Citrus, Inc. BB #:123033 has enjoyed a solid 12 months, according to sales representative Jason Sadoian. “The citrus industry has been doing well as far as movement is concerned,” he says, “and overall demand has been good.”

While each production year is different, Sadoian says the past two have yielded a “good strong crop” on Navel oranges, lemons, and mandarins, all of which form the core of Bee Sweet’s citrus program.

Expanding Consumption

Undoubtedly one of the biggest players in the industry is Delano, CA-headquartered Wonderful Citrus Cooperative BB #:115157, which has continued to benefit from steady business over the past year, according to its president, Zak Laffite, with its easy-peel Wonderful Halos helping drive growth in the category.

“Halos’ quality standard prioritizes sweetness, which we know from our mandarin taste test research is the highest driver of taste likeability with consumers,” he says.

“Mandarin category volume sales are up about 5 percent this winter season, when compared to the same time period a year ago,” Laffite adds. “We’re seeing particularly strong momentum in packaged citrus, as shoppers gravitate toward simple, grab-and-go options.”

Additionally, over the past five years, Lafitte says lemons have been one of the fastest-growing segments in the citrus category, second only to mandarins.

He attributes the phenomenon to more people choosing to cook at home and prioritizing healthy foods with real nutritional value. As a result, he says consumption of Wonderful Seedless Lemons has climbed by more than 50 percent this past year.

For citrus broker Kimball Produce Sales, Inc. BB #:340352 in Pacifica, CA, lemons are its top commodity, following by California navels, Valencias, and limes. Jon Kimball, president, characterizes demand as steady and supply as plentiful.

“There’s much more fruit these last couple of years than normal,” he says. “The market on everyday items like California Valencias and navels, California lemons and grapefruit, has been affected by the supply and demand.”

Weather Impacts

Building and maintaining solid demand is only half the battle, having the supply to meet it is the other—and every year, growers and suppliers must contend with Mother Nature.

The 2025-26 California season for Wonderful Halos started strong with a 4 percent volume increase, Lafitte says, but prolonged weather events in December and early January, including heavy rain and dense fog lasting nearly four weeks, created significant challenges across the citrus industry.

These conditions impacted crop yields and quality, contributing to lower overall production industrywide during the front half of the winter season. 

In a similar vein, Cassie Howard, senior director of category management and marketing at Sunkist Growers, Inc. BB #:102141 in Valencia, CA, describes recent times as “competitive but encouraging,” despite a challenging global marketplace and early-season weather-related disruptions.

She says late-summer heat followed by prolonged cooler temperatures and fog impacted early color development, but internal maturity progressed well, supporting good flavor profiles.

“Sunkist and Fruit Growers Supply teams worked closely with packinghouses and growers to deliver one of the strongest competitive return seasons in recent years,” Howard continues.

“Operational efficiencies, stronger contracting, and continued investments in sales and marketing have helped drive solid movement and improved utilization across key varieties.”

“Operational efficiencies, stronger contracting, and continued investments in sales and marketing have helped drive solid movement and improved utilization across key varieties.”

For the current 2025-26 season, Howard says fruit size has been larger than prior years with Navel oranges running about 8 percent above 2024-25 as harvest ramps up, while Cara Cara oranges are showing a 12 percent crop increase.

In easy-peelers, Sunkist’s clementine mandarins were similarly up 19 percent versus the previous season. For lemons, Howard is seeing strong volume gains across districts, supported by increased domestic and export movement.

Looking at the market as a whole, she characterizes overall demand as “steady to strong,” with particularly positive momentum in lemons, mandarins, and branded specialty varieties.

Positive Progress

Specialty citrus is a case in point for Sunkist. Howard says the grower has seen “meaningful commercial impact” for its branded varietals such as Cara Cara oranges, with volume up 15 percent versus a year ago according to recent retail performance data.

Kimball is enthused about the Kori mandarin, a variety his company started handling in 2025. Availability runs from the Chinese New Year, which began this month, through mid-May.

“It’s a great red-orange color with good sugars, and also great sizing—much bigger than the Tango variety, a smaller mandarin,” explains Kimball. “Kori mandarins are a fun new item with perfect timing for the Chinese New Year. People are very excited about it, and we’re seeing a lot of growth from last year to this year.”

Kimball says the company’s Kori sales have doubled between 2025 and 2026, and he anticipates similar sales growth for next year. “I think Kori mandarins look great on the shelf, they’re great for kids, and it’s something really cool and exciting.”

At Wonderful Citrus, Lafitte says the grower is progressing toward achieving year-round availability for its Wonderful Seedless Lemons, which he says drove 100 percent of growth in the bagged lemon category during peak season.

“As consumer awareness continues to grow, we’re actively expanding supply to meet increasing demand and ensure reliable availability throughout the year,” he notes.

Adding to a citrus portfolio which already includes Navels, lemons, Cara Caras, Minneolas, blood oranges, Texas oranges, Texas grapefruit, and limes, Laffite says Wonderful continues to expand its Halos volume.

Aiming for year-round availability, new California-grown varietals are being introduced along with expanding summer imports. This includes the sourcing from partners in South Africa, Uruguay, Peru, and Chile, as well as strengthening operations in Mexico.

New or Improved

On the packaging side, Lafitte says Wonderful is excited about new packaging and refreshed positioning for the company’s Texas Sweet Grapefruit (formerly Sweet Scarletts), which he says highlights key attributes of the fruit and its differentiation from other grapefruit offerings.

“Wonderful Sweet Grapefruit has hit store shelves, supported by in-store displays, signage, and digital content designed to introduce the product to new, younger consumer audiences,” Lafitte adds.

With lime sales continuing to trail those of lemons, Lafitte believes there’s also plenty of room for growth in the lime category, which he views as “still up-and-coming.”

“Given that juicing is the primary driver of lime purchases, we believe there’s an untapped market to deliver a better experience to consumers and are developing a program to help retailers better educate consumers about limes and how to select them based on the specific usage occasion,” Laffite shares.

Kimball agrees, noting solid sales and growth over the past year. “We get consistent business and it’s very good, but we’re definitely trying to grow the business through new items and new packaging.”

“HLB is always a concern, which is why we’re taking all the necessary steps to combat and maintain tree health.”

Keeping Tabs on HLB

In addition to all the positives, a profound negative continues to rock the citrus industry.

Citrus greening, or HLB, remains a threat in California and Texas after its spread throughout Florida. Although it remains a major concern, Peltzer believes the industry has done a good job in keeping the disease out of California’s commercial groves through mitigation strategies and programs.

“California Citrus Mutual continues to advocate for funding each year to support these efforts; HLB is only spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, therefore mitigation strategies in California have centered around controlling the spread of the psyllid,” she explains.

Sadoian at Bee Sweet Citrus agrees. “HLB is always a concern, which is why we’re taking all the necessary steps to combat and maintain tree health.”

Fortunately, any sightings of Asian citrus psyllids or instances of citrus greening have been limited primarily to residential areas in Southern California, and Howard says quarantines are in place and being closely monitored.

“Sunkist actively supports industrywide prevention, early detection, and grower education efforts in partnership with state and federal agencies—protecting California’s commercial groves remains a top priority.”