37 British MPs urge govt. to stop licensing for Israeli F-35

TEHRAN, Sep. 14 (MNA) – More than three dozen British parliamentarians have called on the government to account for its failure to suspend export licenses for F-35 parts that can end up being used in Israel’s nearly year-old war on Gaza.

In a letter on Friday, a group of 37 MPs wrote to the UK foreign secretary, defense secretary and business secretary to express their concerns about the continued licensing of F-35 fighter jet parts after the British government announced the suspension of only 30 licenses for the export of arms to Israel, PressTV reported.

The lawmakers said the partial ban on arms sales “does not go far enough,” and that the sales risk “continued UK complicity in Israel’s grave violations of international law in the illegally occupied West Bank and Gaza” as London has the autonomy to remove Tel Aviv from the list of approved recipients for the F-35 parts.

“The government has admitted it cannot license the direct transfer of F-35 components to Israel because of the clear risk of serious international humanitarian law violations,” they write.

“But it has not suspended licenses to export UK-made F-35 components to Israel as an end user via third-party countries including the United States. There are serious questions that we demand answers to about the legality and practical necessity of such an exemption.”

The group of MPs underlined in their letter that, “There appears to be no legal justification for the exemption,” and called for a “fuller and proper explanation to Parliament about how this exemption is practically necessary and most importantly – regardless of the practicalities – how it is consistent with the UK’s international obligations.”

Making the announcement about the partial ban last week, Foreign Secretary David Lammy claimed at the parliament that suspending the components “would undermine the global F-35 supply chain that is vital for the security of the UK, our allies and NATO.”

The exemption of the UK-made F-35 parts, which make up 15 percent of every fighter jet, raised major concerns among arms campaigners and human rights groups, including one that described it as “a workhorse of Israel’s brutal bombing campaign.”

Last week, Danish news outlet Information revealed that the Israeli military used an F-35 stealth fighter in a July 13 attack on a designated safe zone in Gaza which killed at least 90 people.

The United States and United Kingdom as well as their European allies have provided the Israeli regime with unstinting support in the fields of finance, intelligence and logistics since the occupying entity launched its merciless war in Gaza in October last year.

Israel’s bloody war machine has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians and wounded upwards of 95,000 others since October 7, 2023. The vast majority of the fatalities are women and children.

The savage campaign was launched after Gaza-based resistance groups carried out the historic Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities.

SD/

News ID 221217

37 MPs demand explanation on failure to prevent F-35 fighter jet parts reaching Israel

Chris Jarvis 

13 September, 2024
Left Foot Forward

They said the government's position risks 'continued UK complicity in Israel's grave violations of international law in the illegally occupied West Bank and Gaza'

A group of 37 MPs have written to the foreign secretary, defence secretary and business secretary expressing concern about the continued licensing of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel. Their letter follows the government’s decision to suspend a small proportion of arms licenses to Israel.

In their letter, the MPs say that the partial ban on arms sales “does not go far enough” and that this risks “continued UK complicity in Israel’s grave violations of international law in the illegally occupied West Bank and Gaza”.

The continued licensing of parts for F-35 fighter jets has been one of the most contentious aspects of the government’s decision on arms exports to Israel. F-35 jets are currently operating in Gaza, with one having been confirmed to have carried out an attack which killed 90 people and injured at least 300.

In their letter, the group of MPs said that “there appears to be no legal justification for the exemption”, and has called for a “fuller and proper explanation to Parliament about how this exemption is practically necessary and most importantly – regardless of the practicalities – how it is consistent with the UK’s international obligations.”

British made F-35 components may still reach Israel as a result of a loophole in the government’s suspension of licenses. The government has restricted the licensing of exports of the components that are sent directly to Israel. However, it has exempted those which are first sent to other countries – such as the USA – before finally reaching Israel as the end-user.

The F-35 jet is described by its manufacture Lockheed-Martin as “the most lethal, survivable and connected fighter jet in the world”.

The government is coming under increasing pressure over its decision to only suspend some arms exports licences with Israel. Earlier this week, the TUC voted at its annual Congress to call on the government for a complete ban on arms sales.

The full list of MPs to sign the letter are as follows:

• Zarah Sultana (Independent)
• Diane Abbott (Labour)
• Shockat Adam (Independent)
• Apsana Begum (Independent)
• Sian Berry (Green)
• Kirsty Blackman (SNP)
• Richard Burgon (Independent)
• Ian Byrne (Independent)
• Ellie Chowns (Green)
• Jeremy Corbyn (Independent)
• Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru)
• Carla Denyer (Green)
• Mary Kelly Foy (Labour)
• Claire Hannah (SDLP)
• Adnan Hussain (Independent)
• Imran Hussain (Independent)
• Kim Johnson (Labour)
• Ayoub Khan (Independent)
• Ben Lake (Labour)
• Peter Lamb (Labour)
• Chris Law (SNP)
• Ian Lavery (Labour)
• Graham Leadbitter (SNP)
• Clive Lewis (Labour)
• Seamus Logan (SNP)
• Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru)
• Andy McDonald (Labour)
• John McDonnell (Independent)
• Abitsam Mohamed (Labour)
• Iqbal Mohamed (Independent)
• Grahame Morris (Labour)
• Brendan O’Hara (SNP)
• Adrian Ramsay (Green)
• Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour)
• Liz Saville-Roberts (Plaid Cymru)
• Nadia Whittome (Labour)
• Steve Witherden (Labour)

Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward

Image credit: Diliff – Creative Commons

 

WALES

Exclusive:

Tata Steel closure leaves 2,800 out of work - but could net bosses millions in profit

Indian-owned Tata Steel is set to close the last blast furnace at the historic Port Talbot steelworks by the end of the month with the loss of 2,800 jobs, but could be in line for millions in payouts

The Port Talbot closure will leave the UK as the only G20 country unable to make steel from scratch

By  Nick Sommerlad

Investigations Editor

MIRROR

14 Sep 2024

The owners of the doomed Port Talbot steel plant could be in line for a windfall worth tens of millions of pounds after closing the last UK blast furnaces, experts claim.

It comes after steelmaker Tata has raked in government subsidies of more than £1billion in the last four years in a failed bid to keep them open.

Indian-owned Tata will close the last furnace at the site by the end of the month with the loss of 2,800 jobs. It has been getting the equivalent of free “pollution permits” under the UK’s Emissions Trading Scheme. These were designed to protect heavily polluting UK industries like steel from cheap imports from countries with weaker environmental rules.

But the permits, if not needed, can also be sold on to other companies with heavy carbon emissions. Tata’s free permits for this year will be based on its emissions over the last two years. Net zero research firm Veyt said this means the firm will get more than it needs. Under the current rules Tata will be able to sell the excess for a windfall profit, though the Government is reviewing the rules.

Veyt spokesman Marcus Ferdinand said based on current prices Tata would get allowances “handed out in excess of the actual emissions” and they’d be worth “around £74 million”.

But Tata said there was “no certainty” on this year’s allocation and insisted that over four years it had received fewer emissions permits than it needed for the furnaces. It comes as a Sunday Mirror investigation with the Democracy for Sale organisation reveals the full scale of the help Tata has already received under the UK’s Emissions Trading Scheme which forces big polluters to obtain a permit for each tonne of carbon they emit.


The cost of the permits is meant to discourage firms from releasing greenhouse gases but critics say some firms are given free permits even after winding down operations, which they can sell for a profit to other companies.

The biggest winner in each of the last four years has been Tata Steel UK Limited – and almost all of its free allocations were for the Port Talbot plant, the UK’s biggest carbon emitter. This year, the company’s total free allocation is 4.9m permits, 4.6m of them for Port Talbot. Each permit, at current prices, is worth around £40.

Tata’s total allocation over four years was worth around £1.4bn based on average prices at the time. But the company says it has not been enough to save the loss-making plant.

The blast furnaces earn Tata 95% of its allocations and their closure will leave the UK as the only G20 economy unable to make steel from scratch.

The Government has agreed a £500m grant for Tata under a £1.25bn green modernisation plan to produce steel from scrap. A Government spokesperson said: “The UK Emission Trading Scheme is helping us deliver our mission for clean power by 2030.

 UK

Homes for All meeting demands council house building programme after Grenfell inquiry

Homes for All is a coalition of housing campaigners and organisations, tenants and the labour and trade union movement


A protest outside Kensington and Chelsea council the day of the Grenfell inquiry

 (Photo: Guy Smallman)

By Charlie Kimber
Saturday 14 September 2024

SOCIALIST WORKER  Issue

Renters and housing campaigners came together on Saturday for a Home for All meeting in the immediate aftermath of the Grenfell inquiry report.

Several speakers rammed home that unless there is significant pressure, the Labour government is set on schemes that offer essentially “more of the same”.

Labour promises to boost the supply of “affordable homes”. But so-called affordable rents are 30 to 40 percent higher than council rents. There are no targets in the development planning strategy for mass council house building.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to introduce a ten-year social housing rent rise formula in October’s Budget. It will increase annual rents in England by the CPI measure of inflation plus an additional 1 percent.

Homes for All wants no such rises. Council housing needs to be genuinely accessible for working class people.

The 2017 Grenfell fire summed up so many of the housing problems in Britain. At the meeting speakers called for action over building control, immediate removal of flammable cladding and support for tenants who raised concerns.

Grenfell also revealed a deep power imbalance. Tenants come up against uncaring and cost-cutting landlords, with disastrous results.

As author Peter Apps wrote, “The person who spoke out against the appointment of inexperienced architects Studio E for the tower’s refurbishment was tenant Eddie Daffarn. It was not any of the expensively assembled project consultants.


‘We still need justice’—reactions to the Grenfell inquiry report
Read More

“The person who raised the issue of evacuation from the tower, given the narrow staircase and malfunctioning smoke system? Not the internationally respected fire engineering consultancy appointed to produce a fire safety strategy, but the chair of the leaseholder’s association Shah Ahmed.

“Those who raised serious concern about fire door self-closers and the new plastic windows? Tenants such as Betty Kasote, Natasha Elcock and Marcio Gomes—not the official fire risk assessor or the clerk of works.

“The trouble was that the system did not give these people power. It did not give them status in the scrutiny process.”

The Homes for All meeting backed working with others for a protest on budget day, 30 October. The group has done powerful work arguing that migrants and refugees are not to blame for the housing crisis.

The meeting called for support for the anti-racist demonstration against Tommy Robinson on 26 October. There will also be a meeting at the Labour Party conference.
Join the campaign

Homes for All is a coalition of housing campaigners and organisations, tenants and the labour and trade union movement.

Together with Defend Council Housing, it puts forward a five-point plan to solve the housing crisisGovernment investment in a mass council housing building programme, including requisitioning of empty homes and the abolition of “right to buy”
Rent controls and secure tenancies in the private rental sector. Robust regulation of housing associations
New funding to repair and refurbish existing council housing—do not demolish
Adequate funding for accessibility, fire safety, and for retrofitting and thermal insulation
Planning for the people and the planet, and not for developers’ profits

For details go to x.com/homes4alluk and axethehousingact.org.uk/

  UK

Keir Starmer still committed to votes at 16 despite leaving policy out of King's Speech

The PM said he stood by Labour's manifesto pledge to reduce the voting age in all elections - adding over a million people to the electorate

The PM said Labour were still committed to the policy 

By Ashley Cowburn

Political Correspondent

THE MIRROR

14 Sep 2024

Keir Starmer has said he's still committed to introducing votes for 16 and 17-year-olds - despite the plans being missing from the King's Speech.

The PM said he stood by Labour's manifesto pledge to reduce the voting age in all elections - adding over a million people to the electorate.

But Mr Starmer argued at the time: "If you can work, if you can pay tax, if you can serve in your armed forces, then you ought to be able to vote."

Under existing laws the voting age at general elections is 18 - but different rules apply for local and devolved elections.

In both Scotland and Wales, 16 and 17-year-olds are able to cast a ballot in both local and devolved and local elections. In England and in Northern Ireland the age remains at 18.

 UK

Labour 'planning to water down 2030 diesel car ban' as hybrids set to evade ban until 2035

14 September 2024, 22:50

Labour is planning to back away from plans to ban the sale of diesel cars in 2030 - by allowing hybrid models to be sold until 2035. Picture: Alamy

By Chay Quinn

@chayquinn

Labour is planning to back away from plans to ban the sale of diesel cars in 2030 - by allowing hybrid models to be sold until 2035

In their manifesto, Sir Keir Starmer's party had vowed to ban petrol-powered cars in the next six years - but has now appeared to backtrack.

The document said that the party would ban the sale of “new cars with internal combustion engines” by 2030 as part of efforts to reach net zero.

Read More: ‘Scrap Net Zero target to fund NHS’ and don’t ‘tweet when drunk’, say Reform UK

The language had suggested that new hybrids – which uses a petrol or diesel engine in conjunction with a battery – would be covered by the ban.

In their manifesto, Sir Keir Starmer's party had vowed to ban petrol-powered cars in the next six years - but has now appeared to backtrack. Picture: Alamy

A government spokesperson told the Telegraph: “This government’s policy has always been to revert to the original 2030 phase out date for the sale of new vehicles with pure internal combustion engines.

“The original phase out date included the provision for some hybrid vehicle sales between 2030 and 2035. We will set out further details on this in due course.”

Conservative frontbencher Helen Whately said: “This new plan is the worst of both worlds. It doesn’t do much to drive down emissions and it’s moving too fast for businesses and motorists.

“Labour spent years in opposition telling everyone they’d give businesses certainty, but they’re backsliding within months.

“This dithering creates a huge headache for manufacturers and ultimately hurts economic growth.”

UK

Nigel Farage faces accusations he is spending more time in the United States than his Clacton constituency - after speaking alongside Putin supporter at glitzy event in Chicago

By Kamal Sultan
DAILY MAIL
14 September 2024 


Nigel Farage last night faced accusations that he is spending more time in the US than his constituency after his third trip to the country in two months.

The Reform UK leader was the main speaker at an event for the Heartland Institute think-tank in Chicago on Friday, where tables cost up to £38,000.

A politician from Austria who supports Vladimir Putin was among the speakers.

Mr Farage insisted last week he was in Clacton-on-Sea at least twice a week and was buying a home in the area. But locals claim they have hardly seen him since July's election.

Nigel Farage at a boxing show in London in July. The Reform UK leader was the main speaker at an event for the Heartland Institute think-tank in Chicago on Friday, where tables cost up to £38,000


Mr Farage campaigning in Clacton for the July General Election. Mr Farage insisted last week he was in Clacton-on-Sea at least twice a week and was buying a home in the area. But locals claim they have hardly seen him since July's election

A poster put up by Led By Donkeys in Clacton displaying the amount Mr Farage has earned from other jobs

Martin Suker, 31, who campaigns for Clacton Labour, accused Mr Farage of 'swanning off over the Atlantic' rather than doing the duties he was elected for.

'I hear complaints all the time,' he said.

'There's no office or staff sorted, his emails don't get responded to.'

Carla Lewis, 43, added: 'He needs to do more than having a pint in Wetherspoons once in a while.'

Last night, a spokesman for Mr Farage said: 'Nigel told the people of Clacton that he would spend some time in America if elected. They gave him a majority of 8,405.'

Greater Anglia and West Midlands could be first nationalised trains under Labour

The operators’ core contracts end on Sunday, meaning the Government can end their deals with 12 weeks’ notice.


West Midlands Railway could be nationalised (Aaron Chown/PA)

David Hughes

Train operators Greater Anglia and West Midlands’ core contract terms expire today, potentially putting the services on course to be the first ones nationalised by the Labour government.

The ending of the core term of their contracts means Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has the power to terminate their deal with 12 weeks’ notice.

She is not expected to act until the Government’s nationalisation legislation completes its passage through Parliament.

But she said she would be “wasting no time” in bringing services back under public ownership.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh vowed to end the ‘wasteful and fragmented’ franchise system (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

These are the first two operators to reach the end of their core terms since Labour came to power in July.

The operators’ full contracts are not due to expire until September 2026.

But Ms Haigh said: “For too long our broken railways have failed passengers day in day out with delays and cancellations.

“That’s why I am laser focused on overhauling the railways and wasting no time in bringing train operating companies back under public ownership where they belong.

“As soon as our public ownership Bill is on the statute book, we will be starting the process of public ownership by serving notice on these operators – putting an end to our wasteful and fragmented privatised railway and delivering for passengers.”

The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill has already been rushed through the House of Commons and is due to be debated in the Lords for the first time on October 7.

The legislation means the Government will take over services from private firms as their franchises expire.

UNTIL IT'S LAW 

THIS IS A GLOBAL UNION ISSUE

More than half of British women would quit their jobs tomorrow to work for a company that lets them WFH while on their period

By Meike Leonard

14 September 2024 

Over half of British women say they would quit their job tomorrow to work at a company which lets them work from home while on their period.

While 84 per cent of women said they continue to work despite feeling unwell during their period, 70 per cent had workplaces that offered no menstrual or hormonal health support, according to a new study.

Of the 2,100 women surveyed, 86 per cent said they had reduced energy and focus owing to their menstrual cycle.

More than half said their mental wellbeing and stress levels were impacted during their period, while just under half reported that their productivity also declined.

While menstrual cycle symptoms vary greatly, many women experience physical symptoms such as abdominal cramps, backache, nausea, fatigue, bloating and headaches during their period.

More than half said their mental wellbeing and stress levels were impacted during their period

They can also experience mental side-effects throughout their menstrual cycle – including mood swings, anger and anxiety.

These are often because of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or premenstrual tension (PMT) and occur before the period starts.

Read More
Step-by-step guide on how to master your hormones during your cycle by menstrual health expert DR COLLEEN FOGARTY-DRAPER

For women with menstrual conditions such as endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), these symptoms can be debilitating, causing some to have to miss work or school.

The new survey, carried out by healthy-eating platform Lifesum, found that 52 per cent of women would leave their workplace for a job that provided better menstrual health support at work.

And 72 per cent said they would like to see workplaces institute more flexible work arrangements.

‘This new data highlights why workplaces must address the unique health needs of their female employees,’ says Wesleigh Roeca, Lifesum’s workplace wellbeing director.

‘To create a more inclusive and supportive work environment, we encourage organisations to adopt a policy that offers flexible work hours, additional healthcare coverage, paid leave for conditions like menopause and endometriosis, and support for pregnancy and fertility challenges.’

How the world’s smelliest fruit is making coffee more expensive

Jake Lapham
BBC News



How much is too much for a caffeine fix?

Prices like £5 in London or $7 in New York for a cup of coffee may be unthinkable for some - but could soon be a reality thanks to a "perfect storm" of economic and environmental factors in the world's top coffee-producing regions.

The cost of unroasted beans traded in global markets is now at a "historically high level", says analyst Judy Ganes.

Experts blame a mix of troubled crops, market forces, depleted stockpiles - and the world’s smelliest fruit.

So how did we get here, and just how much will it impact your morning latte?

In 2021, a freak frost wiped out coffee crops in Brazil, the world's largest producer of Arabica beans - those commonly used in barista-made coffee.

This bean shortfall meant buyers turned to countries like Vietnam, the primary producer of Robusta beans, that are typically used in instant blends.

But farmers there faced the region’s worst drought in nearly a decade.

Climate change has been affecting the development of coffee plants, according to Will Firth, a coffee consultant based in Ho Chi Minh City, in turn impacting bean yields.

And then Vietnamese farmers pivoted to a smelly, yellow fruit - the durian.


Stocks of coffee in Vietnam are "near depleted", and a new harvest season is still two months away


The fruit - which is banned on public transport in Thailand, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong because of its odour - is proving popular in China.

And Vietnamese farmers are replacing their coffee crops with durian to cash in on this emerging market.

Vietnam's durian market share in China almost doubled between 2023 and 2024, and some estimate the crop is five times more lucrative than coffee.

"There’s a history of growers in Vietnam being fickle in response to market price fluctuations, overcommitting, and then flooding the market with quantities of their new crop," Mr Firth says.

As they flooded China with durian, Robusta coffee exports were down 50% in June compared to the previous June, and stocks were now "near depleted", according to the International Coffee Organisation.

Exporters in Colombia, Ethiopia, Peru and Uganda have stepped up, but have not produced enough to ease a tight market.

"Right at [the] time when things started to rev up for demand of Robusta, is right when the world was scrambling for more supply," explains Ms Ganes.

This means Robusta and Arabica beans are now trading at near-record highs on commodity markets.


A brewing market storm


Is the shifting global coffee economy actually impacting the price of your coffee on a high street? The short answer: potentially.

Wholesaler Paul Armstrong believes coffee drinkers may soon face the "crazy" prospect of paying more than £5 in the UK for their caffeine fix.

“It’s a perfect storm at the minute.”

Mr Armstrong, who runs Carrara Coffee Roasters based in the East Midlands, imports beans from South America and Asia, which are then roasted and sent to cafés around the UK.

He tells the BBC he recently increased his prices, hoping it would account for the higher asking prices - but says costs have “only intensified” since.

He adds that with some of his contracts ending in the coming months, cafés he serves will soon have to decide whether to pass the higher costs on to their customers.

Mr Firth says some segments of the industry will be more exposed than others, though.

"It’s really the commercial quantity coffee that will experience the most disuption. Instant coffee, supermarket coffee, stuff at the gas station - that's all going up."

Industry figures caution that a high market price for coffee may not necessarily translate into higher retail prices.

Felipe Barretto Croce, CEO of FAFCoffees in Brazil, agrees that consumers are "feeling the pinch" as consumer prices have risen.

But he argues that is "mostly due to inflationary costs in general", such as rent and labour, rather than the cost of beans. Consultancy Allegra Strategies estimates beans contribute less than 10% of the price of a cup of coffee.

Why Starbucks cannot crack coffee-loving Vietnam

Key crops face major shifts as world warms

"Coffee is still very cheap, as a luxury good, if you make it at home."

He also says that the cost of lower-quality beans rising means high-quality coffee may now be seen as better value.

"If you go into a speciality coffee shop in London and get a coffee, versus a coffee in Costa Coffee, the difference [in price] between that cup and the speciality coffee is much smaller than it used to be."

But there is hope of price relief on the horizon.

Losing future ground


The upcoming spring crop in Brazil, which produces a third of the world's coffee, is now "crucial", according to Mr Croce.

"What everyone is looking at is when the rains will return," he says.

"If they return early, the plants should be healthy enough and the flowering should be good."

But if the rains come as late as October, he adds, yield predictions for next year’s crop will fall and market stress will continue.

In the long term, climate change poses serious challenges for the global coffee industry.


Coffee crops in Sao Paolo, Brazil, were destroyed by a freak frost in 2021


A study from 2022 concluded that even if we drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the area most highly suited for growing coffee could decline by 50% by 2050.

One measure to future-proof the industry that has the support of Mr Croce is a "green premium" - a small tax levied on coffee given to farmers to invest in regenerative agricultural practices, which help protect and sustain the viability of farmlands.

So while smelly fruit is partly responsible for price rises now - a changing climate may ultimately strain the affordability of coffee in the years to come.

City recycles more than 2.3 million coffee pods

City of cafes: Shanghai’s lo

Inflation is cooling. So why is orange juice so expensive right now?


Janna Herron · Senior Columnist

 Yahoo Finance
Sat, September 14, 2024

The price of frozen orange juice is skyrocketing — and no, Clarence Beeks and the Dukes are not involved.

Unlike when those fictitious scoundrels from "Trading Places" tried to corner the frozen OJ futures market with a fake crops report, the explanation for 2024's soaring frozen prices is a little more complicated.

Among the factors: Orange production is way down worldwide due to bad weather and a spreading tree disease that hurts citrus fruit.


But the prices of the frozen version of the breakfast staple are getting hit harder because of import prices and how companies are divvying up their precious orange supply.

Relief is probably not around the corner, either. Orange juice prices likely will remain high because there's no cure for citrus tree disease, and it takes years for farmers to recover from weather disasters.

All of this offers up a case study in how the price of one grocery item fits into the literal food chain and how a host of factors — global change, consumer preferences, and even weather — converge to establish the sticker price we pay at the supermarket.
'The 1,000-pound gorilla'

The short answer to the runup in frozen juice prices is the global orange shortage.

Last year, sales of orange juice represented about half of sales of all juices in the US. That means whatever happens to oranges plays a major factor in prices of the frozen juice category in the Consumer Price Index, a government measure of price changes across an array of consumer goods.

While the appetite worldwide for all orange juice remains stable — with just a slight increase in consumption — supply is under considerable pressure.

Brazil, which produces 70% of the world's orange juice supply, has faced several seasons of extreme weather — including unusually high temperatures — attributable to the El Nino effect. That has devastated orange harvests.


On top of that, a spreading bacterial tree disease is decimating orange production. Citrus greening swells the channels that move water within the tree. Before the tree eventually dies, the clogs in those channels force the tree to drop fruit early, which can't be processed. About 40% of Brazilian plantations have been affected by the disease.

This week, Brazil said its orange crop volume forecast for this season would be 7.1% lower than its May estimate, which was already 24.36% below the previous season’s production levels.

"Brazil is the 1,000-pound gorilla when it comes to production," said David Branch, the sector manager at Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute, who noted the country is "keeping more of what they produce to feed the country and keeping it off the export market."

A worker at a citrus fruit farm separates the tangerines for sale on June 6 in Piedade dos Gerais, in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. (Photo by Pedro Vilela/Getty Images) · (Pedro Vilela via Getty Images)

'Higher cost of production'

That's not all.

Stateside in Florida, the world's third-largest orange juice producer, similar problems are hurting its harvests. The state's orange farms are still recovering from Hurricane Irma seven years ago and Hurricane Ian in 2022, while citrus greening is an even bigger problem there than in Brazil.

Over the past two decades, the disease has slashed Florida's production by 93%, according to the International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association (IFU), forcing growers to implement costlier measures to blunt the disease.

"The impact of greening is more than just what it does to the tree," Dr. Marisa Zansler, director of economic and market research at the Florida Department of Citrus, told Yahoo Finance. "A lot of producers have higher cost of production, but their yields are going down at the same time."

All these factors make the price of orange juice that much higher.

Orange trees with diseases at the citrus producing farm, Sítio Andrade, on June 6 in Piedade dos Gerais, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. (Photo by Pedro Vilela/Getty Images) · (Pedro Vilela via Getty Images)

Frozen vs. non-frozen juice

This, of course, doesn't explain why frozen juice price hikes are eclipsing non-frozen price increases. It would stand to reason that any orange production shortage would affect frozen and non-frozen juice in a similar manner.

But that's not the case.

The gap in price growth has widened since April of last year, when they both registered a year-over-year increase of 9.4%.

In August alone, prices of frozen juice jumped 18.3% year over year, marking the 16th double-digit increase in prices, according to the US Consumer Price Index released this week. Meanwhile, non-frozen juice prices increased only 1.1% last month and the last time it logged a double-digit annual increase was in May of last year.


There are two reasons for this gaping disparity.

The first is that most of the frozen concentrate orange juice in the US — 69% — is from imported orange production, according to Branch. For non-frozen, not-from-concentrate OJ, 14% comes from imported oranges.

A good proxy of the price of imported orange production is the FCOJ futures contracts traded on the InterContinental Exchange. These prices reached record highs of more than $5 per solid pound in September and have increased over 70% since January.


"Since the majority of [frozen concentrate OJ] supply in US products is imported, this significant increase in FCOJ futures is the primary reason that the CPI for Frozen Non-Carbonated juices has increased," Branch said.


"Juice manufacturers are now having to replenish their FCOJ inventory with the higher priced produce, which has driven the production cost of frozen orange juice drinks higher."

'That break-even cost'

A second reason behind the hike in frozen juice prices is how OJ producers are choosing to apportion their strained supply.

Not only does frozen orange juice make up a tiny fraction of overall OJ sales in the US at 3.5%, but it's also less profitable. The average price for frozen OJ is about 27% lower than the average price for refrigerated OJ, per data from the Florida Department of Citrus and Nielsen Data.

Part of that price differential is because refrigerated juice is more premium, made from non-from-concentrate juice, or NFC, while frozen is largely made from reconstituted concentrate juice, or recon. Non-concentrate is more expensive per gallon than recon.

"In order for growers and juice makers to have that break-even cost, they are diverting [their orange supply] to the more profitable premium NFC," Zansler said.

Less supply is going to recon products such as frozen OJ and driving up those prices more.
'Consecutive good harvests'

The outlook for OJ — frozen or otherwise — is not exactly orange-y.

"Restoring normal stock levels in Brazil will require several consecutive good harvests," the IFU said this week in a press statement after orange production levels were revised down.

And unfortunately, there is no cure for citrus greening. That makes the chances of multiple years of good harvests difficult to achieve, the IFU said. Florida, too, faces similar odds along with more severe weather events, though the state is investing heavily in replanting and disease mitigation efforts.

"When you replant a tree, it takes three to four years to even bear fruit, but really six, seven, or eight years before full production," Zansler said.

"So we're looking at a six- to 10-year horizon…it's just going to take a little time for our industry to rebound."

Janna Herron is a Senior Columnist at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @JannaHerron.