Though maturity of some California navel oranges has been held back by a lack of cool weather, the market for navels has remained steady.“Color has been dragging,” said Al Imbimbo, vice president of sales for Suntreat Packing and Shipping. “We have not had enough cool nights, so the fruit is not coloring as fast as we thought it would. So with the delay in color, the pipeline of fruit is not full.” That's made for good prices on fruit, as supplies have not kept up fully with consumer demand.
“We're getting good repeat business, but we're still not able to get enough fruit packed to meet demand,” said Imbimbo. “So the market has remained stronger than anticipated.” At the end of last week, a carton of 48s out of California ranged in price between $26.50 and $28.00, 88s were between $21.00 and $23.00, 113s were between $19.00 and $20.00, and 138s were between $17.00 and $19.00.
“We were worried there would be a lot of offshore fruit, but it seems like the pipeline cleared up,” said Imbimbo. “Prices are a little higher, so we're anticipating a good November.”
For more information:
Al Imbimbo
Suntreat Packing and Shipping
+1 559 562 4988