Warm weather pushed back the start of this year's pomegranate harvest in California. But once picking gathered steam, production came on fast.“We didn't get cooler nights until the second week of October, so that caused a delay in fruit colouring,” explained David Anthony of Ruby Fresh Pomegranates. Once conditions were right for picking, growers hurried to harvest the crop before fruit could split. With a delay at the start and incentive to pick as fast as possible, this year's harvest was condensed.
“We had a furious harvest of about four weeks,” said Anthony. “We had some rain around the end of October, but we had most of our fruit picked and graded by then.”
As of November 14, the price for a carton of Wonderful 22s out of the San Joaquin Valley was between $20.85 and $26.85. Current demand is moderate, though Anthony noted that demand for their arils has been strong this year. Quality has been good, despite concerns about splitting and smaller sizes due to dry conditions across the state.
“I expected fruit size to be down,” said Anthony. “But I was wrong. We had an increase in large fruit, with this being our biggest year for 14s, 16s and 18s.”
For more information:
David Anthony
Ruby Fresh Pomegranates
+1 559 933 0340