Florida citrus growers will be in Cancun this week as world leaders meet again for trade talks.

The state's growers will carry this message: There should be no more cuts in the tariff the United States charges on Brazilian orange juice.

Florida citrus growers and citrus industry representatives will be in Mexico to witness the World Trade Organization meetings scheduled to start today. The five days of meetings are expected to attract some 4,700 delegates representing 146 nations.

The main goal of the meetings is to break the deadlock in the current round of talks about how to further reduce barriers to trade between the countries that belong to the WTO.

The state's citrus growers say if the tariff on Brazilian orange juice is cut further, it will be devastating to Florida's $9.1 billion citrus industry.

"We want to make sure our issue is heard and also understood," said Andy LaVigne, executive vice president of Florida Citrus Mutual, the largest trade group for citrus growers in the state. "I think there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding the orange juice issue, and it's important that it's well understood where we are coming from by our negotiators, as well as other countries."

LaVigne planned to head out for the meeting this morning. Among others who are expected to attend the meeting are Robert Coker, a vice president for U.S. Sugar Corp. in Clewiston, and Bob Crawford, director of the Florida Department of Citrus ...

... Florida citrus growers fear if U.S. tariffs are reduced any further it will allow Brazil, the world's No. 1 producer of orange juice, to expand its market even further and make it impossible for U.S. growers ‹ and Florida growers in particular ‹ to compete in their own back yards.

The tariff on Brazilian juice, which was once about 34 cents per gallon, is now at about 29.7 cents per gallon. The state's citrus growers say that's where they must draw the line.

"Right now what we are saying is that this is the bottom line as far we're concerned," said Ron Hamel, executive director of the Gulf Citrus Growers Association, which represents growers in Collier, Lee, Hendry, Glades and Charlotte counties. "We don't want any reductions in the tariff. We also want to maintain the tariff."

Terry McElroy, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said the department has nothing against free trade agreements as long as they are fair. He said department officials are in agreement with the state's citrus growers about the tariff on Brazilian juice.

"Our position on that is squarely with our citrus growers and that is without this continued tariff our citrus industry will be very badly hurt," he said. "We believe it is absolutely necessary."  ...

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