Orange Crush.

Brazilian companies are quietly taking over the Florida orange juice market.

SOON, FLORIDA ORANGE AND JUICE LABELS MAY BE WIRTEN IN Portuguese.

Citrus companies based in Brazil, or heavily involved in operations there, are squeezing the U.S. competition right out of their own sunny Florida backyards. They are rooting themselves firmly in the region's citrus processing, importing and even growing operations. And Floridians realize they're being uprooted from their own turf. "Brazilians are always our No. 1 competition," says Barbara Oxford, the executive director of the Peace River Valley Citrus Growers in Florida. 'And now they are diversifying."

Brazil's Cutrale Citrus has invested at least US$30 million to acquire and upgrade operations in Florida, as has its compatriot Citrosuco Paulista. Multinational commodities firms Louis Dreyfus of France and Cargill of the United States, which are both major players in Brazil--the world's largest grower of oranges--have also acquired processing plants in the Sunshine State, the world's No. 2 grower.

Brazil accounts for about a quarter of all the citrus fruits worldwide, with oranges representing about two-thirds of the total. Since the mid-1980s, however, the United States has slapped high tariffs on Brazilian OJ, with duties reaching as high as 63%. To avoid these duties and attack new markets, Brazilians are increasing their operations in Florida. "The Brazilians are now responsible for about 40% of the juice processed in the state," says Philip Lesser, the economic and market research director for the University of Florida's Citrus Research and Education Center in Central Florida. "And the growing trend is continuing."

Cutrale, a subsidiary of Brazil's Sucocitrico Cutrale, runs former Florida Minute Maid processing plants, five Brazilian processing plants and three ships. One of the largest growers and processors of citrus products in the world, the company produces 25 million to 30 million boxes of oranges annually from more 100,000 acres in Brazil. Citrosuco has 80,000 acres under cultivation. And adding in the operations of multinationals Dreyfus and Cargill, experts estimate that the four concerns control 80% of the Brazilian market and capacity capable of processing 30% of U.S. orange output.

Florida's tristeza. While tariffs have managed to keep Brazilian produce at bay, Florida growers, processors and other citrus companies are fighting a host of elements. Florida's fight against the dreaded orange tree disease--citrus canker that lowers each tree's fruit production--may require the destruction of a million trees by the beginning of next year. That's a third of the South Florida's citrus tree population, but Gov. Jeb Bush says the state must cut down the trees to keep the disease from spreading farther north toward the heart of Florida's citrus empire.

Oxford, however, says growers are more concerned about a possible outbreak of another disease, tristeza, which shuts down the ability of trees to take in water. "Commercially, that's what we're seeing more of," she says. "And especially with a drought, the trees can die much more quickly."

Whether it's death by canker or by tristeza, a large loss in Florida acreage would give an even stronger foothold in the industry to the Brazilians, who, Floridians say, face less environmental pressures. "We don't operate as other countries do," Oxford contends. "The American people, for example, are more environmentally conscience,"

Now that the Brazilians are moving into Florida, however, growers will no longer be able to claim unequal conditions. Additionally, the Brazilians may begin to compete in new segments, such as the high-priced juice known as "not from concentrate." According to the Florida growers, the Latin American citrus titans are cultivating their own production in the Sunshine State. "A lot of the Brazilian processors are getting their own acreage," says Oxford of the Peace Valley association. "They're going to have more of their own supply."

With their own acreage as well as their own supply of Florida-grown oranges, Brazilians are expected to tap themselves into every juncture of the citrus network. The local Florida growers figure that the best defense is a good offense, emphasizing Florida-quality orange juice. "We figure that once someone's tasted Florida orange juice, they'll never go back," Oxford says. But more and more "Florida" orange juice is going through the Brazilian pipeline.