Citrus World, Inc. (CWI) reported its top pool for early- and mid-season oranges paid a combined $2.41 per pound solid (PPS) last season. The same combined pool for Valencia oranges paid $2.61 PPS. Grapefruit returned an average of $2.30 PPS. The results were announced at CWI’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Nov. 8.
Chief Operating Officer Chris Groom discussed sales performance over the past year. “All business units experienced strong volume increases with significant growth in the Florida’s Natural brand,” said Groom. “Category and distribution growth in the retail segment, the recovery efforts of the away-from-home foodservice and the international sales growth during the 2021 fiscal year all contributed to our strong performance over the past year.” He said there were gains in the foodservice dispenser category in the U.S. and Canada, along with growth for single-serve products.
The CWI board of directors elected Frank M. Hunt, III president and chairman for the coming year. Other officers elected were Lindsay Raley, vice chairman and first vice president; Robert M. Behr, chief executive officer; William J. Hendry, chief financial officer, treasurer and secretary; Christopher W. Groom, chief operating officer; L. Davis Crumbly, vice president of agricultural services; M. Scott Smith, vice president of operations; James M. Paulson, vice president of information technology; Christina A. Gasperino, vice president of human resources; and Sean Frielich, vice president of technical services.
CWI’s 14 cooperative members are Ben Hill Griffin Inc., Citrus Marketing Services, Dundee Citrus Growers Association (CGA), Haines City CGA, Hunt Bros. Cooperative, Lake Placid Citrus Cooperative, Lake Wales CGA, Lykes Bros. Inc., Orange Growers Marketing Association, Peace River Packing Company, Southern Gardens Grove Corporation, Umatilla CGA, Waverly Growers Cooperative and Winter Haven CGA. These members represent several hundred individual growers owning more than 50,000 acres of citrus in Florida.
CWI’s flagship brand, not-from-concentrate Florida’s Natural, is sold throughout the United States and in more than 40 other countries. The cooperative is headquartered in Lake Wales, Florida.
Source: Citrus World, Inc.
