No reprieve for US orange juice rout

New York

ORANGE juice remains the most popular fruit beverage in the US. The problem is, many Americans just don't drink it anymore.

Annual consumption for a juice that became a US breakfast staple after World War II is now the lowest in at least 18 years. While smaller orange crops in Florida and Brazil have sent futures surging in the past month, sales of the top two brands, PepsiCo Inc's Tropicana and Coca Cola Co's Minute Maid, have plunged in the past decade.

Demand has suffered as beverage choices increased, from diet sodas to sports drinks, and high sugar content has become a turn-off for calorie-conscious consumers, data from market researcher Euromonitor plc shows. Sales of bottled water topped all juices for the first time in 2007. The waning appeal of orange juice has limited the impact of a 55 per cent production decline since 2004 in Flor…