Florida Citrus Industry Targets Brazil

Florida orange growers and juice makers asked the federal government Monday to impose tariffs on Brazilian processors, accusing them of selling orange juice in the U.S. at unfair prices.

The Florida growers and processors also asked the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Commerce Department to conduct an investigation into the pricing practices of four juice producers. The agencies are likely to make a decision in the coming months.

“As we see it, their goal is to atrophy the industry and further control and manipulate the market to the detriment of Florida citrus growers,” said Andy LaVigne, vice president and chief executive of Florida Citrus Mutual, the state’s largest citrus growers’ group.

The petition accused the Brazilians of selling frozen concentrated orange juice in the United States at 37% less than production costs. The petition also accused the Brazilians of selling pasteurized not-from-concentrate juice at 78% lower than the cost of production.

The practice -- called dumping -- contributed to the decline by almost a third of on-tree prices for Florida juice oranges and an orange juice inventory buildup of more than 20%, the petition claimed. The practice also forced some Florida processors to close and suppressed the futures market from rising higher after hurricanes decimated this year’s crop.

“It got to the point where we needed to take action,” LaVigne said.

Brazil is the world’s largest producer of oranges and Brazilian processors have made inroads in Florida’s citrus industry in the last two decades by opening up plants in the Sunshine State. Citrus growers in Florida, the world’s second-largest orange producer, have struggled in recent years with declining orange juice consumption, blamed in part on low-carb diets.

Because Florida’s citrus crops were hit hard by hurricanes, Brazil is expected to export hundreds of millions of gallons of orange juice this season.

The companies named in the petition are Citrosuco, Cutrale Citrus Juices, Louis Dreyfus Citrus and Cargill Juice.

Cargill spokesman David Feider said the company sold its Brazilian juice assets last summer. “However, we will review the petition in greater detail and will fully cooperate with the government in its investigation.”

Representatives of the other companies either declined to comment or could not be reached for comment.