An article in yesterday’s The Villages Daily Sun reported that the Florida Citrus Commission raised the tax on orange growers 19%¹ to pay for a more aggressive advertising campaign. The commissioners cited rising supermarket prices for the cause of decreased consumption of Florida oranges and orange juice. “If you basically don’t hammer home the message to the consumer that as prices increase you still have to buy this, the consumer won’t,” said commission chairman Stephen Ryan.

So, Steve, let’s see…raise the tax (price)² on a product that is losing market share because the price is too high . Then advertise to overcome the rise in price the tax brings. Hmmmm.

1. From 18.5 cents per 90-pound box to 22 cents per 90-pound box [↩]
2. The tax that will obviously be passed on to the consumer [↩]