Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate (FOJC) – Another Shock-Resistant Bull Commodity?

The soft commodities traders are more and more focusing on orange production, dominated by growers in not-so-many regions and countries such as, first and foremost, Florida, Mexico, Spain, Morocco and some – in Australia. What they all have in common is that last year, all were affected by climatic episodes that significantly undermined the citrus harvest. According to Unijus, France’s National Interprofessional Union of Fruit Juices, Florida’s production has seen unprecedented drops in output following September 2022’s Hurricane Ian, and so-called oranges’ “greening” disease, representing its smallest orange crop since the 1930s.

The global futures price for frozen orange juice concentrate (FOJC) has hit a record high in 2023, jumping more than 60% YoY.

The global orange juice market size was estimated at USD 6.3 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow to USD 7.9 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 3.79%. Brazil is the world's leading supplier of orange juice, but Florida is the frontrunner in the United States. Production. Florida citrus growers rely heavily on the juice industry, with approximately 90% of the crop used to produce juice in various forms. As global demand for orange juice grows strongly, supplies from the European Union, China and Mexico are also more and more at play.

Once again, the price hikes underscore a serious problem in Florida — the state commonly known as Orange State, which produces the most orange juice in the country while still being one of the world's top exporters. But Florida's troubles over the past year have created opportunities for Brazil, the world's largest exporter of orange juice. OJ shipments from Florida rose 58% in the first 4 months of the season due to the above explained low orange production in the country.