History of the Navel Orange in Florida

The citrus industry in the United States generates revenues in excess of thirty billion dollars a year. While several states produce sizable citrus crops, Florida is by far the biggest. The Sunshine State is home to a massive nine billion dollar industry that employs 90,000 workers. In this article we will discuss the citrus industry: past, present and future.

Christopher Columbus is credited with bringing the first citrus fruits to Florida during his first voyage. A few decades later in 1513, the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon planted the first orange groves in Florida. The orange was immediately embraced by the local population who continued to cultivate the tropical fruit for centuries before the citrus industry was born.

The first shipments of citrus fruit left Florida during the 1830s. At the time, the industry produced mostly fresh fruit. Oranges, grapefruits, lemons and lime were its most popular products. But due to the increased popularity of fruit juices, Florida began to process larger and larger portions of its citrus crops. Today, about 80 percent of these crops are used to make Florida orange juice.

The Sunshine State is so dominant in the orange juice market that they are responsible for about half of the world’s supply. Of the seven million tons of oranges that are grown in the United States each year, about seventy-five percent of them come from Florida. About eighty percent of those oranges are used for orange juice.

What about the rest? About twenty percent of Florida oranges are sold as fresh fruit. At last count, there were over thirty distinct varieties that are grown in Florida. The most popular type of fresh orange is the navel orange. Often regarded as the sweetest and juiciest of the over 600 varieties of oranges, the navel orange is not a fruit that was made for juicing.

The orange variety that farmers selected when juicing became popular was the Valencia. This seeded variety is much cheaper to grow than the navel orange and has a milder flavor. For these reasons, it is easily the most popular orange in Florida with around 80 percent of the crop.

Still, the navel orange is the most sought after fresh orange in the state. A descendant of the famous fruit, the Cara Cara, is arguably the most esteemed fresh citrus fruit in Florida. Also called the Red Navel Orange, the Cara Cara has a dark orange-reddish interior and is extremely sweet. It also has a low acid content, which makes it a near perfect fresh fruit.

Because it matures during the winter months, the navel orange is often referred to as the holiday orange. For this reason, it is a staple in holiday fruit baskets, especially those from Florida.

Taste the Sunshine with Hale Groves

At Hale Groves, we believe the best gifts come from the land, not a factory. For generations, our fruit has been grown slowly under the Florida sun, picked at its peak, and delivered fresh to your door. From sweet Navel Oranges to rare Honeybells, every gift shares the simple joy of real flavor—perfect for holidays, milestones, or everyday moments worth celebrating.

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