Brazil and Florida, The world's top two exporters of orange juice who have sometimes clashed as rivals, are discussing a joint global advertising program to promote juice sales, a Florida Department of Citrus official said.

"We have very good cooperation from our Brazilian counterparts who are discussing participating in a global generic advertising program," Robert Norberg, the department's deputy executive director for research and operations, told reporters.

He spoke after a conference on the industry at the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center.

"We know that crop sizes are going to go down in the near term and there is going to be pressure on prices in the near term to go up. We think that some of that price pressure can be overcome by good messaging to consumers on the benefits of orange juice," Norberg said.

Brazil is the world's No. 1 exporter of orange juice. Almost all of its produce is exported, usually as frozen concentrate and roughly one glass in two of orange consumed worldwide originates from the South American country.

Brazilian industry representatives have said they expect international prices to firm in 2010 following frosts early in the year that hit Florida, the No. 2 global exporter.

Relations in the past between the two top orange juice exporting territories have sometimes been acrimonious, with Florida growers accusing some Brazilian juice processors of dumping product in the U.S. market.

Brazil's government has also complained in the past to the World Trade Organization (WTO) about "unfair" U.S. measures.

But the two leading producers have talked about the idea of starting a joint estimate for the countries' crops.

Despite being a major world producer, the United States is one of the main importers of Brazil's orange juice.

Norberg said Brazilian growers had applied to their federal government for a grant to do market research on demand and pricing. "They're moving in the right direction," he said.

He added Florida citrus growers were looking for ways to lower costs and improve production.

"We think there is light at the end of the tunnel. The industry can certainly survive in the long run," he said. (Reuters)