Is the Florida citrus industry on its way out?

The orange is the iconic symbol of Florida. While the fruit may be on the state’s license plates, the citrus industry has been on the decline for more than a decade.

Citrus greening and hurricanes have forced shortages, which is among the reasons why Fort Myers-based Alico Citrus is winding down its citrus production.

“Unfortunately, this is a transition that mother nature brought to our doorstep,” said John Kiernan, CEO of Alico Inc. “And we’ve had to navigate through that so that Alico as a company could have a future going forward.”

• RELATED: Alico Inc. CEO explains shift away from citrus industry

It’s an issue Fritz Roka, an agribusiness professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, is no stranger to.

“Right now, it’s looking pretty bleak,” said Roka. “It’s really bleak.”

About 20 years ago, citrus greening ambushed Florida farmers.

“By the time we realized it, it was already beyond the point of no return for eradication,” said Roka. “So the goal was, how can we live with it? How can we combat it?”

And despite the best and brightest minds in the world trying to find a cure: “We have not been able to conquer it,” said Roka.

This is an issue that has caused some big Florida growers, Alico Citrus being the latest, to waive their white flag.

The company cites citrus greening and recent hurricanes as the deciding financial factors for using their land for other purposes.

“When you have a sick tree, like when you have a sick human, it’s not as vigorous,” said Roka. “You know, you’re incapacitated, you’re tired, you don’t, you don’t function very well. Same thing with an infected tree, and then you lay a hurricane on top of that tree.”

And when growers like Alico make the choice to pull the plug, it makes it harder for processors like Tropicana or Florida Natural to make orange juice and other products you find on the shelves in stores.

“It’s clearly going to put significant stress on them,” said Roka. “A lot of the fruit that Alico was growing, it was going to Tropicana.”

• RELATED: Alico Inc. to wind down citrus division; cites greening as reason

He added: “It’s a downward spiral. You need the processing capacity to sustain growers and prices. Processors can’t get the fruit, therefore their plants don’t run efficiently. They have to cut back and not close down.”

All of these factors could lead processors to turn to growers outside the country.

“They’re going to be having to import either oranges or fresh juice or juice from places like Brazil or Mexico or Belize or other parts of the of the world to keep their units going,” said Roka. “The small Florida growers do not have the size to keep a Florida National or a Tropicana company going.”

When you take it all into account, the situation seems bleak for Florida citrus, but Roka won’t call citrus greening the winner of the battle just yet.

“I don’t want to be the one that says that citrus is gone,” said Roko. “I still believe that there’s too many individuals that are still working at this, that… something that will come down, or some disease resistant tree, or some therapy that could help trees rebound.”

He added: “I think the basic commodity that we’re producing, orange juice, specifically, is a healthy drink, and I think the market could rebound if its supply could be stabilized, and customers could feel a sense of assurance that this is going to be around.”