Feeling a little squeezed in the orange juice aisle?

Between the climbing cost for a carton of fresh-squeezed juice, steep counter-tariffs on U.S. juices like Tropicana, and now plummeting U.S. shipments, you might worry this breakfast staple is in danger of becoming a luxury good.

But industry and business experts say none of this is unexpected and that consumers have options.

Canada is seeing a "dramatic reduction" in imports of orange juice from Florida but that is to be expected, given the rising prices and the fact that the beverage was specifically targeted by our counter-tariffs, said Michael von Massow, a professor of food agriculture and resource economics at the University of Guelph in Ontario.

In other words, the marked drop in imports has been compounded by the ongoing consumer desire to buy Canadian, he said.

"We are probably seeing an effect here where just the American product is going up in price — which means that it's going down in demand — but there are other options on the shelf," von Massow told CBC News.

"Unless you're tied specifically to fresh-pressed orange juice from Florida."

U.S. shipments drop to 20-year low
The total value of U.S. shipments of fresh orange juice to Canada saw a steep drop in June to its lowest level in more than 20 years, according to data from both the U.S. Census Bureau and Statistics Canada.

The total import value in June of fresh orange juice from the U.S. into Canada was $5.78 million, compared to nearly $12 million in June 2024, according to Statistics Canada. Since January alone, the monthly import value dropped by 64 per cent.