Harvesting Charges
Harvesting Charges for Florida Citrus, 2024/25
In this report, we provide estimates for harvesting citrus in Florida during the 2024/25 season. The estimates are useful for computing on-tree prices and to estimate economic returns to citrus growers. To collect the data, we conducted a survey in May 2025. A total of seven citrus harvesters participated in the survey. The combined harvested area of those who reported it accounted for 25,997 acres, which represents 9% of the citrus bearing acreage in the state (USDA-NASS, 2024). Harvesting charges are classified into picking, roadsiding, and hauling. We collected data to obtain estimates for each of those three categories for the major citrus varieties grown in Florida. Table 1 shows the average, minimum, maximum, as well as the percentage change from last season for each harvesting category and variety. The average picking charges for all fresh fruit varieties increased by 24% compared to last season and those for processed fruit by 16%. The largest increase in picking charges was for fresh Valencia oranges, which increased by 43%. Relative to 2023/24, the average roadsiding charges for all fresh fruit increased by 14%, and for processed fruit the charges increased by 32%. The largest change in roadsiding charges was for processed Early and mid-season oranges, which increased by 42% relative to last season. The average hauling charges for fresh and processed fruit increased by 8% and 5% compared to last season, respectively. Since citrus harvesting is performed manually, the cost of labor is a key component of harvesting. A large proportion of the labor used for harvesting citrus in Florida is hired under the H-2A temporary agricultural program. Harvesting companies often end up employing a majority of H-2A workers because domestic harvesting workers are in short supply. Among the companies surveyed that reported the percentage of H-2A crew, all but one reported it consisted of 100% H-2A workers. Therefore, the costs associated with employing H-2A workers are embedded in the harvesting charges presented in this report. Citrus black spot is a fungal disease that affects yield and fruit quality and was first detected in Florida in March 2010 (Dewdney et al., 2016). All trailers hauling citrus fruit from regions in which citrus black spot has been detected, are required to be tarped. The cost to tarp the hauling trailer increases the total harvesting charge. According to the responses we obtained, the average time to install and remove a tarp from the trailer was 35 minutes, and the additional cost associated with it was $30.00 per load. In Table 2 we present the estimates for the average total harvesting charges by variety, for fresh and processed fruit, using the hauling charges for 51-80 miles. The average total harvesting charges for fresh and processed sweet oranges were $5.34 and $5.55 per box, respectively. For grapefruit, the average total harvesting charges were $3.67 per box for fresh fruit, whereas for fresh and processed specialty fruit the charges were $10.20 and $6.70 per box, respectively. The significantly higher charges for harvesting 2 specialty fruit may be attributed to the extra labor needed to clip, pick, and handle these thin peel varieties so that the fruit is not damaged. Moreover, hauling costs for processed specialty fruit can be higher than those for other processed varieties because they are not hauled in a fully loaded trailer to prevent the fruit on the bottom from becoming crushed from the weight of fruit loaded on top.
References
Dewdney, M. M., T.S. Schubert, M.R. Estes, P.D. Roberts, N.A. Peres. 2016. 2016 Florida Citrus Pest Management Guide: Ch. 19 Citrus Black Spot. Available at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/cg088 USDA-NASS. 2024. Commercial Citrus Inventory Report
Archived Harvesting Charges
*no data available
| 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 |
| 2018/19 | 2017/18 | 2016/17 | 2015/16 | 2014/15 | 2013/14* |
| 2012/13* | 2011/12 | 2010/11 | 2009/10 | 2008/09 | 2007/08 |
| 2006/07 | 2005/06 |