Organic Cranberry Supplies up but Tight

Retailers looking to feature organic cranberries in their holiday lineup this year will have more volume to pick from, but demand will still exceed supplies, and there will be little fruit left after the Thanksgiving pull.

“When we’re talking to consumers about organic cranberries, we like to tell them, ‘If you see it, buy it,'" quipped Bob Wilson, who handles sales for The Cranberry Network, which which represents the Cranberry Cooperative of the Americas.

Bob Wilson, Sales, The Cranberry Network

From his Wisconsin Rapids, WI, headquarters, Wilson said the supply situation on both conventional and organic fresh cranberries is “vastly improved over last year’s crop,” but he added that organic volume will still be tight with very few post-Thanksgiving options available for buyers. The Cranberry Cooperative of the Americas represents about 250 growers, with most of them operating out of Wisconsin, but it also represents growers from Quebec and several other smaller-producing districts.

“When we’re talking to consumers about organic cranberries, we like to tell them, ‘If you see it, buy it,'” - Bob Wilson

Last year’s cranberry crop was very short, Wilson said, with the 2022 Wisconsin crop expected to be about 25 percent larger. Most of the organic production comes from the northern part of the state, which is experiencing very good yields. The crop is in the final stages of its harvest, and Wilson said total numbers won’t be available for a couple of weeks, but the harvest “is about 90 to 95 percent complete, and it is looking good. In fact, organic growers are having a good year.”

While supplies of organics will still be tight, Wilson said that a few years ago organic cranberry production got ahead of demand a little bit, and there has been a reduction in acreage across North America. He thinks the organic production is right-sized as it now represents about 10 percent of Wisconsin’s volume.

Wisconsin is North America’s top cranberry-producing district, and this year’s total crop had a preseason estimate of 5.2 million 100-pound barrels. Wilson, however, said most experts are predicting that the volume will not reach the 5-million-barrel mark, but will be significantly higher than in 2021 when less than 4 million barrels were produced.

Cranberries offer an interesting marketing dynamic as Wilson noted that almost all the fruit is processed. In fact, less than 5 percent of total volume comes into the fresh market. Growers searching for the best per-pound price can seek out the fresh market as well as organic cranberries—both fresh and processed—as those options typically offer a significant price premium over conventional processed fruit.

It is still the processor price that drives the market, and Wilson said the industry went into the season with less carry-through inventory than in any time in recent history. Most growers received a good contract price from the processors for their 2022 fruit, which lessened the incentive to look elsewhere for dollars, including the fresh market for organic or conventional fruit.

“There was little motivation to connect into the fresh market,” Wilson said of the growers who don’t typically participate on the fresh side.

Nonetheless, there is still about 25 percent more fruit than last year. Fresh organic cranberries are expected to finish by Thanksgiving, but there are expected to be fresh sales of conventional fruit available leading up to the Christmas holiday.

“There was little motivation to connect into the fresh market,” Wilson said of the growers who don’t typically participate on the fresh side.

Tom Lochner, executive director of the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association, gave the same advice that Wilson offered. “If you see ‘em, buy ‘em,” he said. “Buy enough for both Thanksgiving and Christmas and freeze some packs for Christmas.”

Tom Lochner, Executive Director, Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association

Lochner said that most growers were finishing up their picking for the processing market this week but would still be picking for the fresh market into next week. Inclement weather, including hail in the spring, impacted the crop by reducing fruit size. “We are not going to meet the 5.2-million-barrel estimate for Wisconsin, but we are way up from last year,” he said.

Speaking of the organic/conventional split, Lochner agreed that there would be conventional fruit available for Christmas, but fresh organic cranberry packs would not last that long. The organic cranberry volume, he said, has reached a level that appears to work for growers and the marketplace.

“It is a challenging and difficult environment in which to produce organic cranberries,” Lochner said. “Diseases and weeds make it difficult, and the organic grower has few tools to fight those issues.”

Consequently, the organic fruit must return a premium, making for a balancing act that requires careful consideration. A few years ago, Lochner said growers in Quebec did convert more than one-third of their acreage to organic cranberry production, but there has been a slight pullback because of market conditions. Again, it is the processing market that dictates what is grown and is available for the fresh market.

“It is a challenging and difficult environment in which to produce organic cranberries. Diseases and weeds make it difficult, and the organic grower has few tools to fight those issues.” - Tom Lochner

With supply and demand for organic cranberries back in sync, Lochner said he does expect steady but slow increases in organic production to resume moving forward.