GREAT CITRUS FREEZE in California costs a 'cool billion dollars.'

dpa German Press Agency
Published: Wednesday January 17, 2007

San Francisco- A cool billion dollars - that's the
estimated cost so far of what's being called California's great
citrus freeze, a record-breaking blast of icy weather that has frozen
fruit to the trees in one of the most productive agricultural region
in the world.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of
emergency in the 10 counties hardest hit - even as frigid
temperatures are expected to linger through the weekend.

"We don't really know exactly what the financial damage is yet but
just the citrus industry alone - it's close to a billion dollars,"
Schwarzenegger told CNN Wednesday.

That would put the damage above that of the 1998 freeze, which
cost 700 million dollars and destroyed 85 per cent of the state's
citrus crop.

The avocado crop has also taken a huge hit, as have the vegetables
grown in the state's massive Central Valley where nighttime
temperatures have dropped below freezing for over a week. Among the
hardest hit crops are lettuce, strawberries and flowers.

Prices in grocery stores have already started to climb and
suppliers are trying to keep citrus shelves full by increasing
imports from Mexico and Chile, the Los Angeles Times reported.

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