LAKELAND - Florida Citrus Commission members reached a compromise Wednesday that not only set the juice orange box price at 16.5 cents, but salved a political gap with Florida Citrus Mutual over tariff preservation.

Commissioners unanimously approved the lower-limit surcharge that largely funds its $67,178,370 2004-05 budget and agreed to back into the general fund a $1.5 million warchest established last year to protect the industry's import tariff. The decision averts a growing battle with Florida Citrus Mutual and its Citrus Tariff Oversight Committee over responsibility for beating off attempts to lift surcharges, mainly on Brazilian juice concentrate.

Citrus Commission members and many growers generally agreed Wednesday that the state agency had no place in a political battle against the Free Trade Area of the Americas treaty. The accord would establish a hemispheric trading zone similar to the one created by the decade-old North American Free Trade Agreement.

American negotiators in Buenos Aires, Argentina, stiffened their position last month against dropping tariff protections for cotton, sugar and orange juice.

Commission Chair Andy Taylor said the group has enough on its plate just fighting off the impact of low-carbohydrate diets that are slowing growth in an industry stuck with 42 weeks of excess inventory. Record low prices seriously imperil small- to medium-sized growers not insulated by long-term contracts, packing organizations say.

"We need to back DOC (Department of Citrus) out of the issue and leave CTOC and Citrus Mutual to handle the tariff. We have a lot to do here. We can't afford the distraction," Taylor said.

"If we're singularly focused on growing and the market, there may be an opportunity for some savings," DOC Executive Director Dan Gunter said. "The tariff is better managed by someone else out of the public forum."

Winter Haven grower Squire Smith, Citrus Mutual immediate past president, said the box vote was a compromise intended to end derisiveness in the industry. The tax increase will "make it that much more difficult" to raise money for the tariff protection fight, he said.

Citrus Mutual spokeswoman Casey Pace said the lobby appreciates the compromise, but the industry, hurt by low prices, would rather the $1.5 million be transferred to tariff preservation.

Gunter's budget is 5 percent, or $3.575 million, below the current spending plan, cutting deeply in all areas including public relations, market research and capital equipment. Commissioners are to hear today from four advertising agencies vying for a generic marketing contract of up to five years worth $20 million to $25 million. The new budget goes into effect in the fall.

The box tax on oranges is 1.5 cents above the 15-cent tax established last year with an eye toward giving growers an opportunity to donate 1.5 cents to Citrus Mutual to battle against lifting the tariff.

No tax increases are planned for processed or fresh grapefruit, fresh oranges or fancies. DOC projection box revenues are up nearly 10 percent for oranges and 13.7 percent for grapefruit. Domestic fruit assessments fund nearly 80 percent of 2004-05 DOC budget.

Five of eight citrus associations support a processed orange box price of 17 cents or greater. Early in the meeting, Taylor stated his preference for a price of 17 or 17 1/4 cents.

The agency needs to operate in a more efficient manner, Commissioner Michael L. Carrere said. "We're not going to succeed because we raise the tax to 16 cents or 18 cents. We're going to succeed because we'll do things differently than we have," he said. "We've got to find another way to skin the cat."

Commission members failed on initial votes for 16-, 16.5-. 17- and 16.25-cent orange box taxes, three times by an 8-4 margin. Tax votes require a nine member super-majority under the commission's bylaws. Commissioner Harry H. Falk described the last proposal as "a compromise of a compromise to make a new compromise."

The unanimous 16.5-cent tax vote came with little discussion immediately after lunch.