California's cherimoya crop is about to finish up for the season, as suppliers look toward fruit from Chile. However, shipments of Chilean fruit have been delayed for a number of reasons, whether it be smaller fruit sizes or inspection issues, and the market is subsequently tight. Suppliers are hoping that Chilean fruit will arrive by next week.
"Right now, we are at the very end of the California crop," said Bob Morse of Davalan Fresh. "There is very little fruit in the market and prices are high. Chilean shipments were supposed to start in the first or second week of June but have been held up. Some of the fruit was not sizing up correctly and inspectors halted one of the shipments. It's looking like it will be next week when volume finally begins to arrive however our suppliers are hoping to get a shipment out by the weekend."
Morse added that the inspection process can be very strict. "There was an issue with last week's shipment and for some reason it did not pass inspection," he said. "Customs are very strict, especially when it comes to fruit fly. They only have to find so much as a wing for the entire shipment to be rejected."
Prices expected to be high for Chilean cherimoya
At this time, the price of California-grown cherimoya is hovering around the $60 mark, Morse said. With very little fruit around, the market is hungry for Chilean fruit to arrive. Prices are expected to remain at those levels in the early part of the Chilean cherimoya deal. However, solid volumes out of Chile are anticipated and the market should eventually settle.
"We have been up in the $60 range for Californian cherimoya for a while," Morse explained. "There are no prices for Chilean fruit yet as they have not arrived, but typically they come in about the same price. We have to see though how things will begin this year. We are expecting excellent volume this year from both of our suppliers and it should be a nice steady season."
Other products coming soon
Davalan Fresh deals with a broad range of fruits and vegetables, and also focuses on specialty fruits. Morse mentioned that the California fig season is about to hit full stride.
"We are in the midst of the California fig season now," he said. "We are beginning to see plenty of volume coming out of Fresno of both black and brown figs. This week, expectations are for supplies to start coming in strong."
For more information:
Bob Morse
Davalan Fresh
Ph: +1 (213) 623-2500
[email protected]
www.davalanfresh.com
