Citrus freeze didn't slow Sunkist revenues.Sunkist Sunkist can refer to two related entitites
tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. statewide citrus citrus Any of the plants that make up the genus Citrus, in the rue family, that yield pulpy fruits covered with fairly thick skins. The genus includes the lemon, lime, sweet and sour oranges, tangerine, grapefruit, citron, and shaddock (C. maxima, or C. grandis; also called pomelo). crop freeze cut the state's harvest of navel oranges in half. Meanwhile, the recovery of the crops has exceeded the expectations of industry experts, while citrus supplies and prices at Southland south·land or South·land n. A region in the south of a country or an area. south  land·er n.Noun 1. supermarkets have returned to normal levels. Sunkist, a Sherman Oaks-based cooperative of citrus fruit growers, reported at its Feb. 5 annual meeting revenues of $956 million during fiscal 1991 ended Oct. 31, $24 million higher than its 1989 revenues and $110 million less than revenues reported during its record-breaking 1990 year. Total payments to its members were also the second-highest in the cooperative's history. Payments to growers, which are revenues minus operating costs operating costs npl → gastos mpl operacionales , totaled $713 million during fiscal 1991, compared with a record-breaking $795 million in 1990 and $679 million in 1989. Robert Krauter, a spokesman for the California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). Farm Bureau, said Sunkist's 1991 results can be attributed to the laws of supply and demand. When the freeze hit in December 1990, the state's citrus supply was cut drastically dras·tic adj. 1. Severe or radical in nature; extreme: the drastic measure of amputating the entire leg; drastic social change brought about by the French Revolution. 2. in a very short period of time. Prices skyrocketed, and Sunkist growers, as well as other growers in the state who still had crops to harvest, were able to take advantage of the high prices, he said. The price of navel oranges sold in supermarkets doubled and tripled following the freeze, said Jan DeLyser, executive vice president of the Fresh Produce Council. Most of the damage from the freeze occurred in the Kern Kern, river, 155 mi (249 km) long, rising in the S Sierra Nevada Mts., E Calif., and flowing south, then southwest to a reservoir in the extreme southern part of the San Joaquin valley. The river has Isabella Dam as its chief facility. , Tulare and Fresno counties. Many Sunkist growers have crops in these areas, but there are also Sunkist growers in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , the desert and Arizona Arizona (âr'əzō`nə), state in the southwestern United States. It is bordered by Utah (N), New Mexico (E), Mexico (S), and, across the Colorado R., Nevada and California (W). . These growers are the ones who benefited from the high prices, explained Sunkist spokeswoman Claire Peters. Peters insisted, though, that the high prices for citrus fruit during winter 1991 were set by the market, not by Sunkist. Sunkist sold only 48 million cartons of fruit during fiscal 1991, as compared with 82 million cartons during 1990. There are 40 pounds of fruit per carton. During 1991, the average carton of Sunkist navel oranges sold for $12.13. In comparison, these oranges sold for an average of $7.77 a carton during 1990, the year before the freeze, Peters said. Carton prices for this season have not yet been calculated. Sunkist markets citrus fruit produced by its 6,500 members who are growers in California and Arizona. All revenues generated by the marketing of the fruit are returned to the growers, with the exception of the cooperative's operating costs. In contrast to fiscal 1991, Sunkist growers expect to sell about 77 million cartons of fruit this year, which is considered an average amount, Peters said. "The recovery is much better than anybody thought it would be," Peters said. Statewide, navel oranges recovered better than expected, while lemon crops are still suffering. It may take lemon trees in the state three or four years to recover from the freeze, Krauter noted. Overall, citrus crops "have come through better than expected in most areas," Krauter said. Now citrus fruit supplies at Southland supermarkets are "almost normal" and "prices are probably as low as they have been in five years," said Roger Schroeder, vice president of produce for Los Angeles-based Hughes Markets Inc. Navel oranges are selling for an average of 69 cents a pound, but some specials are advertising the oranges for as little as three pounds for $1, Schroeder said. Different varieties of citrus fruit at Ralphs supermarkets are selling for exactly the same price as they were during winter 1990, the year prior to the freeze, said Kerry Hodges, vice president of produce for Compton-based Ralphs Grocery Co. Overall, the state's citrus crops ripened later because the trees were "just coming out of their stress and got a longer and slower start" this season, said Joel Nelsen, president of California Citrus Mutual in Visalia. The season started in December rather than November, he said. |
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