Organic Cherries Dip Below $100 FOB

It has been a very good year for California’s cherry growers and a superb year for growers of the organic fruit, which represents a small percentage of the state’s cherry crop. 

There has been no rain since harvest began a month ago and none in the forecast as growers head toward the last several weeks of their season. Rain, of course, is the fruit’s nemesis, and often its untimely arrival cuts deep into harvest volumes.

Jarod Hunting, Buyer, Earl's Organic Produce

“We have had good supply of organic cherries with both Coral and Brooks [varieties] sizing really well,” said Jarod Hunting, a buyer at Earl’s Organic Produce. “And this week we are pulling some really nice Rainiers.”

Because of the increased supplies, Hunting said the FOB price had dipped below $100. On the first day of June, he said the price for organic cherries was in the $90 to $100 range. The San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market price was still being quoted at $110 in the June 1 National Specialty Crops Organic Summary published by the USDA.

Because of the increased supplies, Hunting said the FOB price had dipped below $100.

Most people did not begrudge cherry producers for having a very solid market this year as often they do not, Hunting said.

Earl’s will start sourcing organic cherries from the Pacific Northwest in a couple of weeks, Hunting said, which will put downward pressure on the organic cherry market due to the Northwest's much larger supplies. 

Organic stone fruits also experienced a good market in May, Hunting said, starting out with very high prices before settling in the high $30s this week, depending on the category, variety, and fruit size. Earl’s pulled some early fruit from the Coachella Valley but is transitioning to the San Joaquin Valley at this juncture.

“We have had good volumes on [organic] apricots, peaches, and nectarines,” Hunting said.  “We haven’t seen any plums or pluots yet, but we are expecting them at the end of this week.”

A similar organic stone fruit report came from David Weinstein of Heath & Lejeune in Los Angeles. He noted that lack of rain and the specter of prolonged drought has growers up and down the state bemoaning their future, but this year’s climatic conditions have led to the production of excellent fruit.

“We haven’t seen any plums or pluots yet, but we are expecting them at the end of this week.” -Jarod Hunting

“Climate change and lack of rain caused the fruit season to be late, but the result is that the fruit is really, really good this year,” Weinstein said. “We are seeing excellent quality that is eating very well.”

David Weinstein, Heath & Lejeune

On the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market, organic apricots were in very light supply with prices reported above $60. Organic peaches and nectarines were in the upper $30s.

In New York, Joe Eisinger, who handles organic purchasing for Nathel & Nathel on the Hunts Point Market, said the first load of organic peaches and nectarines from California had arrived, and his first load of organic cherries from Washington would load this coming weekend [June 5-6] and arrive a week later. 

“Climate change and lack of rain caused the fruit season to be late, but the result is that the fruit is really, really good this year.” -David Weinstein

With organic cherries out of California in short supply and very highly priced, Eisinger has been waiting on cherries until the Pacific Northwest starts shipping, which should happen this week. Eisinger said he resisted buying the early batches of California stone fruits because the sizing was generally on the small side.

Joe Eisinger, Nathel & Nathel

“The stone fruit deal started out slow here because of the high prices and the high freight rates,” he said, adding that his first load from California had a freight rate of $12,000, which adds about $6 to the raw cost of the fruit.

The FOB price combined with the high freight rate has created a New York market price in the upper $40s for organic stone fruit this first week of June. Eisinger is expecting the FOB price on the fruit to drop as volume picks up, but the freight rate is not expected to come down. “I think we are going to see tight [truck] supplies all summer,” he predicted.