Hurricane Heats Up Florida Orange Juice Prices

NEW YORK, Sept 7 (AFP) - Orange juice futures shot up Tuesday as traders fretted about the devastation to the Florida citrus groves from two hurricanes in less than a month.
The New York Board of Trade orange juice contract was up 4.65 cents at 79 cents in mid-morning trading. This was a 6.25 percent rise from the close price on Friday, the last day of trading.
Hurricane Charley in mid-August destroyed some groves and more were wiped out by Hurricane Frances which hit Florida at the weekend. Judith Ganes of JG Consulting said this had pushed prices up.
But the rise could remain moderate as the damage from Frances did not appear as widespread as for Charley, according to growers' associations.
Juice prices fell drastically last year because of record production and weak demand as low carbohydrate diets became a major fashion.