Industry

The industry in LaBelle is predominantly agricultural. one citrus juice concentrate plant are

operating, attesting to LaBelle's claim as a major citrus center.

LaBelle Plant World supplies farmers throughout the country with uniform, scientifically grown

vegetable and tobacco seedlings ready for planting.

The LaBelle area has an abundance of industry zoned land and looks forward to an increase

industrial use, as our area continues to grow.

No mention of agriculture in Hendry County would be complete without making note

of the county's truck farms, which produce cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, peppers, celery

and watermelons.

In 1997, Hendry County voters passed an addendum for incentives to attract new and existing businesses.

Industries
Honey Processing
Vegetable Packing Plants

Other:
Oil Production, timber production, seasoning manufacturing, truss manufacturing, vegetable nurseries,

limerock, cement and bait farms.

LaBelle: Southwest Florida's Citrus Center

By Ron Hamel

Citrus Center

From September through June, millions of boxes of oranges, grapefruit and specialty citrus

are trucked to and through LaBelle as southwest Florida has become Florida's fastest

growing citrus production area. The "gulf" region, which includes Charlotte, Collier, Glades,

Hendry and Lee counties, currently produces about 25% of Florida's total annual citrus crop

and contributes over $1 billion to the southwest Florida economy.

The freezes that plagued central Florida throughout the 1980's prompted growers to

move citrus operations southward. LaBelle and Hendry County have become the center of a

bustling industry. Throughout the harvesting season, Highways 80 and 29 are alive with truckloads

of bright orange golden yellow "gems" as this citrus moves to be packed as fresh fruit or

processed into juice and other citrus by-products.

Recent reports by the Florida Agricultural Statistics Service (FASS) show that during

the 2006 - 2007 season, the Gulf Area produced more than 22.5 million boxes of early

and mid-season oranges; 27.6 million boxes of Valencias; 6 million boxes of grapefruit;

nearly 1.1 million boxes of tangerines and 454,000 boxes of other citrus for a total of

nearly 57 million boxes of fruit. A box of citrus weights approximately 95 pounds.

Hendry County leads the state in total number of citrus trees at 14.4 million and is second in

total citrus acreage at 94,139 acres. In all, more than 170,457 acres are currently in

citrus production within the Gulf Region.