Following 2020’s drought effect on Ontario peaches and nectarines, this year’s crop looks more ample.
“Last year we were down almost 40 percent in overall crops. This year, we should see a return to a more normal-sized crop,” says Sarah Marshall of Ontario Tender Fruit/Fresh Grape Growers in St. Catharines, ON.
The crop is also benefiting from the Ontario rains and the stone fruit is seeing good sizing. “We are running about a week or so earlier than last year for harvest and probably a few days earlier than average because of the early heat,” says Marshall. “We had some good heat just before bloom and that was a week or so earlier than last year and that’s when it all started.”
Early season end?
Depending on how fast the fruit flows through the marketplace and if that means an early start will dictate an early end to the season, Marshall says production generally wraps up in the middle of September on peaches while nectarines might go until the end of September/early October. “We have some early nectarine varieties and they’ll start picking some now. But we don’t get into our main variety, Fantasia, until the beginning of September,” she adds.
As for demand, there are hopes it will be high once again. “It was very high last year because we had a severely reduced crop. Demand far exceeded supply,” she says. “I hope we have a good balance this year and that we’re able to supply consumers with locally grown store fruit and that they’re willing to go back and buy more than one basket.”
Those limited supplies in 2020 meant fruit was largely distributed throughout Ontario and Quebec. However Ontario Tender Fruit also sends fruit to the Atlantic Canadian provinces as well as Western Canadian provinces.
Labor issues continue
As production gets underway though, labor continues to challenge Ontario growers. “We’re doing better than last year but there is still a reduction in labor due to COVID,” says Marshall. She notes it works with temporary foreign workers from Jamaica, Mexico and other smaller Caribbean islands and the reductions and delays are happening for a number of reasons--missing paperwork deadlines, missing requirements for COVID testing and more. That said, with Canada still requiring new arrivals to quarantine for two weeks, many workers that are making it are arriving earlier to accommodate for that quarantine.
Meanwhile on pricing, Marshall hopes pricing will be stronger due to increased costs. “We’re trying to get a bit more in the marketplace,” she says. “But we have to see how consumers react to that and how product flows from that.”
For more information:
Sarah Marshall
Ontario Tender Fruit/Fresh Grape Growers
Tel: +1 (905) 688-0990
sarah@ontariotenderfruit.ca
www.ontariotenderfruit.ca