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A Florida TaxWatch economic report
Florida's fresh fruit & vegetable production
Florida has approximately 9.25 million acres in commercial production on 47,500 commercial farms1, which produce food products not only for Floridians, but also for those from other states and countries. Florida has a substantial presence in agriculture production, given the high-value crops produced in our state, although the state ranks 18th in the U.S. on number of farms, and only 30th in total farmland.
Production of the world-famous Florida citrus crops and other fresh fruits and vegetables is given a major advantage by the state’s favorable climate, which allows farmers to grow a great variety of fruits and vegetables throughout the year.
"Florida's fresh fruit & vegetable production"
Florida TaxWatch examined Florida’s storied orange industry in a 2012 report showing that Florida produced more oranges than any other state in the U.S., totaling more than 70 percent of the U.S. supply2. Florida’s leading agricultural crop, oranges provide nearly 18 percent of Florida’s agriculture receipts, and the state exports millions of boxes of fresh oranges, as well as processing more than a hundred million boxes of oranges for domestic and international markets annually. For fresh-market production, Florida harvested 186,700 acres of land in 2012, producing more than $1.1 billion in receipts. This issue of Economic Commentary focuses on other successful products of our agricultural industry: produce, which positions Florida as the second largest fruits, vegetables, and juices exporter in the nation, and whose farming and processing alone contributes $7.65 billion to the Florida economy.3
1 2013 Florida Agriculture by the Numbers. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. November 2013
2 Peeling Back the Florida Orange Industry. Florida TaxWatch. October 2012.
3 Economic Contributions of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Food Industries in Florida in 2012. University of Florida.
 [Photo: FarmersMarketsFlorida.com] |
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