Rains hamper harvest of California oranges

The California rains continue to affect the harvesting of produce in the state—only this time it’s with oranges. “Supply wise, it’s been difficult because of the rains,” says Pat Simas of the Visalia, Ca.-based Chuck Olsen Co. “We’ve been in and out as far as picking and it’s created some small temporary supply gaps, especially for smaller sized fruit. And we are a little behind because we haven’t been able to pick as much because of the rain.”

Meanwhile the quality of the fruit is good and demand has been equally good. “It’s been fairly steady and in fact, with the situation with the rain, it’s even bolstered demand just a little bit because we don’t have everything available every day because we can’t get in and pick it,” says Simas.

That of course means that prices are fairly steady as well. “Overall, it’s been a good market with steady pricing,” he says.

Rain not going away
Looking ahead though, the peak of the rain season will be hitting California and Simas says it may have to contend with showers for as long as another month or more. “We’re having some more rain here again today and it’s expected to continue through the weekend,” he says, adding that one key challenge can be labor and the rains. “It’s been difficult with labour because when we are able to get in to pick, there’s a larger demand for labor crews to harvest the fruit,” he notes.

For more information:
Pat Simas
Chuck Olsen Co.
Tel: +1 559-651-5900
pat@chuckolsenco.com
http://www.chuckolsenco.com/