CHARLEY CLUBBED FLORIDA'S ORANGES CALIFORNIA GROWERS WON'T BENEFIT MUCH.

Byline: David Schwartz Staff Writer

REDLANDS, Calif. - After years of dwindling acreage, poor crops and increased competition, Southern California orange growers might see a bump in prices because of Hurricane Charley's destruction of Florida citrus groves.

But any short-term boost for orange prices will be merely a blip in the long-term outlook, growers and agriculture experts said.

Southern California's own combination of rising land prices and increased foreign competition have proved to be a far more devastating force than a single hurricane in Florida could compensate for.

The hurricane hit Florida's citrus industry hard last week, with 35 percent of its $9.1 billion industry in the path of the storm. Florida officials are still trying to figure out how much damage Hurricane Charley did to their citrus industry.

``We're getting mixed reports from Florida,'' said Tim Farmer, general manager of Redlands Foothill Groves, a San Bernardino County packing houses. The hurricane ``will have some effect, no doubt about it,'' he said.

But the outlook is still grim. Farmers harvested 1,227 fewer acres in 2003 than the year before, a 25 percent reduction for San Bernardino County.

``Wipe out all the oranges in Florida and it's not going to really have an impact on what's going on in Redlands,'' said John Gardner, chief deputy commissioner for the county Agriculture Department.

Gardner pointed to the groves of oranges that have been abandoned, the tree branches dry and leaves stripped since the water was turned off.

In north Redlands, groves are being torn up for new houses.

``No one is going to take the time and effort to develop more agricultural land for citrus unless economics aren't an issue for them,'' Gardner said. ``Land is too expensive in Southern California. Water is too expensive.''

But this year's output could be the best in years for the farmers who have stuck around.

``It's a phenomenon,'' Farmer said. ``A lot of Valencia acreage has been put out the past two years - there was oversupply, the low quality of crop, pressure of Third World countries. It's turned around this year.''

Two types of oranges are mainly produced in San Bernardino County. Valencias, which are picked until the early fall, accounted for $7.2 million in sales in 2003. Navel oranges, which have historically been the backbone of the local citrus industry, accounted for $8.2 million in sales in 2003.

Navel oranges compete with the Florida-grown honey tangerine in the winter months. The navel crop might see a boost if Florida's tangerine production sags, Farmer said.

An early heat wave in March knocked a lot of the navel blossoms off the trees. But it could lead to larger oranges.

``We'll have a lighter crop, but more marketable size,'' Farmer said.

Most of the Florida oranges go toward juice production. The oranges in Southern California supermarkets come from California's Central Valley, where they are grown sweeter.

As for San Bernardino County's oranges, finicky consumers find them too small for their tastes, Farmer said, so most are exported to Asia.