MOGI GUACU, Brazil – Prices for orange juice have always been erratic; they rise when frost or a hurricane destroys fruit trees and fall when abundant harvests result in an excess of oranges.

But since the diseases and severe weather decimating orange groves in some of the top-producing nations are not readily fixed, the record-high prices for OJ that the globe is currently experiencing might not last long.

The biggest orange juice producer in the world, Brazil, is expected to have its poorest crop in 36 years due to drought and flooding, according to a prediction by Fundecitrus, a Sao Paulo state citrus growers’ association.

High Orange Juice Prices May Be On The Table For A While Due To Disease And Extreme Weather

According to Mogi Guacu, Brazil, orange grower Oscar Simonetti, there is more to worry about than rising juice prices. The worry is not having the juice.

In the United States, Hurricane Ian severely devastated an already suffering crop due to an invading insect, resulting in a 62% decline in orange production in Florida’s 2022–2023 season. Spanish orange output was likewise reduced by drought the previous year.

Low supplies have driven up costs. Government statistics from April show that a 12-ounce can of frozen orange juice concentrate in the United States costs an average of $4.27, 42% more than the previous month.

Consumer research firm Nielsen reports that fresh orange juice prices in the UK, where the British Fruit Juice Association reports supplies are at 50-year lows, increased by 25% over the previous year.

Those price hikes are turning off consumers tired of inflation. Rabobank, a Dutch food and agriculture bank, reports that orange juice consumption has decreased from 15% to 25% over the past year in major worldwide markets, including the United States and the European Union.

Jonna Parker, principal for fresh food client insights at market research firm Circana, noted that more and more people are obtaining their morning fruit from smoothies, energy drinks, and other beverages than orange juice.

People think about other options when the price rises, she said.

Before the current price increases, orange juice consumption fell worldwide due to public concern about the quantity of sugar in fruit juices and rivalry with other drinks. If that tendency keeps up, Rabobank said, it should help balance supply and demand and prevent prices from growing much higher. Limited supplies, however, are expected to keep prices high for some time.

Orange juice has completely gone from the shelves in some stores.

An “orange fruit drink” with 35% orange juice replaced orange juice on the Australian McDonald’s menu late last year. The company mentioned short supplies.

Because of limited Brazilian juice supply, Tokyo-based Morinaga Milk Industry Co. plans to cease delivering its Sunkist orange juice by the end of June. Based in Sapporo, northern Japan, Megmilk Snow Brand Co. ceased shipping 1-liter (approximately a quart) and 450-milliliter (15.2-ounce) orange juice packs in April 2023. The company sells the juice under a Dole contract. Sales have yet to start up again.

High Orange Juice Prices May Be On The Table For A While Due To Disease And Extreme Weather

A few firms are considering substituting other fruits for oranges in their goods. Citing the expense of routine orange juicing, British juice manufacturer Coldpress launched a mandarin juice product in February.

Still others, though, keep their ideas under wraps. Dole, Tropicana, Florida’s Natural, Uncle Matt’s, and Coca-Cola (which produces the Simply and Minute Maid brands) are among the big orange juice producers that either declined to comment or did not answer questions from The Associated Press.

Decades of history are at the heart of the present supply problems. When an Asian citrus psyllid invaded Florida in 2005, it injected bacteria from its saliva into the orange plants there. By damaging its root systems, the bacteria gradually destroys the tree. Once a tree is afflicted, there is no known treatment.

The effect has been devastating. Florida produced 200 million orange boxes in 2004 before the illness known as citrus greening struck the state. It will provide less than 20 million this year.

Though no orange tree is completely resistant to greening, scientists have been working to breed more tolerant trees, according to Michael Rogers, an entomology professor and head of the Citrus Research and Education Center at the University of Florida.

Though it has advanced more slowly there because of its far bigger orange orchards, citrus greening appeared in Brazil around the same time as in Florida. Rogers added that the disease is carried by insects traveling from tree to tree.

The sickness is still advancing. Fundecitrus projects citrus greening on 38% of Brazil’s orange trees by 2023. According to orange farmer Simonetti, greening affects 20% of his output. On afflicted trees, oranges ripen improperly and fall off early, lowering their juice quality, he said.

Production can only sometimes be moved to other places. Citrus psyllids, for instance, do not do well in the climate of California, where oranges are grown. However, Rogers added, California also lacks the rainfall required for juicing oranges; its oranges are often marketed for consumption.

Extreme weather is another problem that affects orange harvests and is getting more frequent as global warming is caused by climate change.

High Orange Juice Prices May Be On The Table For A While Due To Disease And Extreme Weather

Nine heat waves that tore across Brazil last year caused reduced production and inferior fruit quality. El Niño has had especially dramatic effects this year, causing terrible floods in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul and a record drought in the Amazon.

It’s hot during the day. Nighttime brings with it a drop. Simonetti said that this temperature differential is too great for the plant.

Brazil’s 2024–2025 crop is predicted to produce 232 million boxes of oranges, a 24% decrease from the previous year.

Coordinator of Fundecitrus’ crop estimates study Vinícius Trombin commented, “We have never seen a harvest like this.”

Trombin noted that some producers are considering combining oranges and tangerines to manufacture juice to offset the expected lower output. He is dubious, though.

“The consumer wants orange juice made entirely of oranges,” he declared.

Parker of Circana is a little unsure. Blends including other fruits, in her opinion, may help keep prices down and pique customer interest in orange juice.

“The notion of many flavors is a way to stand out and is very popular,” she said. People must be kept interested. Regaining that interest is extremely difficult once it is lost.

SOURCE – (AP)

In a brief Friday testimony at the federal financial conspiracy trial involving buzz-to-bust startup Ozy Media, Google CEO Sundar Pichai refuted founder Carlos Watson’s charges that the search giant had previously attempted to acquire Ozy.

Pichai told jurors that Google considered offering Watson a high-level news executive position in 2021 and investing $25 million in Ozy in an attempt to lure him away.

Google CEO Testifies At Trial Of Collapsed Startup Ozy Media And Founder Carlos Watson

“We were thinking about investing in Ozy Media to make the transition easier because Mr. Watson was an important part of the company,” he said.

However, prosecutor Dylan Stern inquired if you had ever made an offer to buy Ozy Media for $600 million.

“No,” Google and parent Alphabet Inc. CEO Pichai said.

According to him, Watson was first introduced to him at a conference and later in a video interview for a prospective Google position coordinating with news sources. The $25 million investment and the hiring have yet to materialize.

Prosecutors claim that Watson later informed another potential investor that Pichai had bid nine-figure to acquire Ozy. Before dissolving in fall 2021 over allegations that it had blatantly overstated its audience reach, deals, and finances, the Mountain View, California-based company produced TV shows, podcasts, and a music-and-ideas festival.

In an email statement on Friday, Ozy Media attorney Shannon Frison said that Watson’s claim that Google had made a $600 million bid is “unequivocally untrue.”

“He never had such a conversation with Google and never told anyone that he did,” Frison stated.

Watson and Ozy Media have entered not-guilty pleas on allegations, including fraud conspiracy. He claims he founded a strong, legitimate business, didn’t defraud anyone, and is being singled out for prosecution for what he calls, at most, “mistakes in business.”

Google CEO Testifies At Trial Of Collapsed Startup Ozy Media And Founder Carlos Watson

Defense attorneys claim Ozy co-founder Samir Rao is to blame for any misrepresentations. They claim Rao is falsely accusing Watson in an effort to get out of jail. Rao is awaiting sentence after entering guilty pleas to identity theft and fraud conspiracies.

Earlier in the trial, he said that ambition, desperation to keep the business afloat, and “Carlos’ deep belief that failure was not an option and we had to do whatever it took” had thrown his “moral compass.”

In a February 2021 conversation, Rao famously pretended to be a YouTube executive, even using a phone app to hide his voice, to support Ozy to Goldman Sachs investment bankers.

“It was one of the most disturbing calls that I have ever been on in my career,” Goldman executive Hillel Moerman said in court on Friday, describing the incident as “a surreal experience.”

Rao said he pulled the phony stunt to support a fabrication that YouTube was sponsoring Watson’s talk show. During the call, Rao said Watson was with him, texting him with instructions. One text displayed to jurors said, “I am a big fan of Carlos, Samir and the show.”

According to defense attorney Ronald Sullivan Jr., Watson entered the room during the call, saw that “a live train wreck” was taking place, and attempted to get Rao to halt the conversation.

Among other indicators that tipped off the Goldman bankers, Moerman noted Friday, was the alleged YouTube executive’s voice, which sounded blatantly “off.”

Google CEO Testifies At Trial Of Collapsed Startup Ozy Media And Founder Carlos Watson

Soon after, one of his coworkers called the real YouTube executive, which is owned by Alphabet. The trick fell apart, as did the possibility of an investment by Goldman.

“We had been misled,” Moerman told the Brooklyn federal court jury.

Rao testified that after the incident, Goldman Sachs continued advertising with Ozy.

Watson reported to the board of Ozy and Goldman that Rao had experienced a mental health crisis. Rao informed the jury that although he was taking antidepressants at the time, he was not on a mental health vacation.

SOURCE – (AP)

Washington: In a decision sparked by a labor dispute with Starbucks, the Supreme Court on Thursday made it more difficult for the federal government to obtain court orders when it suspected a corporation of meddling in unionization efforts.

The justices raised the bar on when a federal court may require worker jobs to be protected during a union organizing drive.

A higher standard, pushed by Starbucks that must be satisfied in most other disputes over court orders or injunctions, was favored by the court unanimously over a provision that some courts had applied to orders requested by the National Labour Relations Board.

Supreme Court, Siding With Starbucks, Makes It Harder For NLRB To Win Court Orders In Labor Disputes

The National Labour Relations Act, which controls the agency, has, the NLRB had contended, permitted judges to issue temporary injunctions for over 75 years if they determined that the requests were “just and proper.” According to the agency, the statute was meant to restrict the power of the courts and does not need it to demonstrate any additional elements.

“Consistent federal standards are important in ensuring that employees know their rights and consistent labour practices are upheld no matter where in the country they work and live,” Starbucks stated after the ruling.

However, Lynne Fox, head of the union representing the workers, claimed that Starbucks should have abandoned the lawsuit as part of its more accommodating stance on union organizing initiatives. When their employers disobey the law, working people have very few options for self-defense. That makes today’s Supreme Court decision especially horrible, said Workers United president Fox.

Starbucks fired seven employees in February 2022 for attempting to organize their Tennessee location. The matter moved through the agency’s administrative procedures while the NLRB won a court order requiring the employer to rehire the employees. Two years may pass during such procedures.

Supreme Court, Siding With Starbucks, Makes It Harder For NLRB To Win Court Orders In Labor Disputes

Starbucks was ordered to rehire the employees in August 2022 by a temporary injunction issued by a district court judge who concurred with the NLRB. Starbucks appealed to the Supreme Court following the upholding of that decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

According to Workers United, the union organizing Starbucks workers, five of the seven workers are still employed at the Memphis store, while the other two continue involved with the organizing campaign. The Memphis store voted to unionize in June 2022.

As the case proceeded, antagonism between Workers United and Starbucks began to dissolve. The two parties declared in February that they would reopen talks to complete contract agreements this year, and they convened their first bargaining session in nearly a year in late April.

Supreme Court, Siding With Starbucks, Makes It Harder For NLRB To Win Court Orders In Labor Disputes

According to the NLRB, workers at 437 company-owned U.S. Starbucks cafes have voted to unionize since late 2021, but none of those stores has achieved a labor agreement with Starbucks.

Starbucks said it’s pursuing its goal of obtaining finalized contracts for those outlets this year.

SOURCE – (AP)