Supplies of peaches out of South Carolina are extremely limited thanks to a freeze the region saw in March. “Not all growers are picking and packing and those who are, are not doing it every day,” says Michael Blume of Keystone Fruit Marketing Inc.
This challenging season follows a 2022 short crop from the region as well. “However I’ve never seen anything like this year,” says Blume. “Not only are supplies limited, we don’t know what we are going to have day to day. The crop is very unpredictable. In addition, the peaches are not sizing up, so what little we have, is mostly small. However, we may not be packing many peaches but what we are packing is of excellent quality and flavor.”
Notably, the season did start somewhat early this year but with such limited supply, Blume says it’s not been able to cover all orders since day one. He expects to continue shipping through August albeit with those limited supplies. “We’ll get started in West Virginia and Pennsylvania by late July or early August. These regions may not have a full crop, but we are hopeful that they’ll fare better than the South,” he adds, noting it’s also not had peaches from either Georgia or Alabama and isn’t expecting any.
The state of orders
Meanwhile, demand is strong, particularly so given Southern peaches in general see strong demand. That means that most orders are being pro-rated, pushed off and delivered late or simply canceled. “Our biggest challenge is trying to satisfy the needs of our loyal customers or at least get them something,” Blume says. “It’s a shame that we are unable to fill the needs of retailers and wholesalers that have supported our program and the growers over the past several years. We are hopeful our grower partners can get through the season and be back in 2024.”
Not surprisingly, this is leaving pricing at historical highs. “Very little supply and high demand have prices like I’ve never seen before. The fruit is also small and not sizing up so our fear is we will have small fruit all season long,” he says, adding that this is expected to stay that way for the remainder of the season.
For more information:
Michael Blume
Keystone Fruit Marketing
michael@keystonefruit.com
www.keystonefruit.com