New Study Emphasizes Citrus Quarantine Benefits
Although Florida’s citrus canker quarantine plan has been questioned repeatedly in the court system, a new UF study indicates the benefits of the eradication program outweigh the costs eight to one. If the disease were to continue on its pace of establishment and become endemic in the state, exports of fresh fruit to Europe would likely end and the annual loss to the state would be nearly $2.5 billion.
According to the study, the program saves producers nearly $170 million annually in production costs for items such as extra bactericide sprays in groves, and processing steps at packinghouses to grade out blemished fruit and disinfect clean fruit for foreign and domestic markets. The program also helps the citrus industry avoid $85 million annually in lost revenues that would be caused by lower fruit yields and unmarketable fruit. In contrast, the cost of the program on a yearly basis is estimated to be $44 million.
In terms of the entire lifetime of the program (since 1995), costs are estimated to be nearly half a billion dollars, which includes tree survey and destruction costs as well as compensation to homeowners for lost trees. In 2004, producers received approximately $28 million in compensation from state and federal agencies for production lost to canker or exposure to canker.
The study also showed that the current phase, which started in 2000, could have removed all trees infected or exposed to the disease by the end of this year. However, because of legal challenges that halted tree removal in Dade and Broward counties, the eradication program will have to continue until at least the beginning of 2008. Unfortunately, that date was predicted prior to the hurricanes of 2004. With new patches of outbreak, the program may have to continue past 2008. (UF/IFAS Press Release, 3/17/05).
