6 Million Oranges May Go Unharvested

As many as 6 million boxes of oranges may go unharvested in Florida this year because of a shortage of fruit pickers made worse by fears about what changes may come in immigration law.

The citrus season usually ends in late June. It’s been extended until at least late July this year with juice processors hoping to get as many oranges as possible off trees.

The Ledger reported today that about 9 million boxes of Valencia oranges are still on trees this week.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is scheduled to release its final citrus crop projection Wednesday. Its June 9th report forecasted 153 million boxes of oranges.

Growers have reported difficulty finding enough workers. Industry officials are citing the talk of immigration crackdowns for their inability to find Hispanic workers, who make up much of Florida’s farm work force.

Source; cbs4.com