A kinder climate has led to particularly good eating-quality stone fruit out of California. "Stone fruit is looking great so far, especially compared to the last two years," says David Nelley of The Fresh Connection.
This is due in part to the much milder weather seen in the growing season. The season also saw an early start, and it's now up to about 10 days ahead of normal depending on the variety. "The eating experience has been really good on early, early varieties, which is a good sign," he says. "The flavor of the nectarines in particular is incredible this year. It seems like anyone buying California stone fruit has really had a good eating experience delivered to them."
© Fresh Connection
Sizing update
That said, the fruit sizing has been smaller than normal on stone fruit. For an exporter like The Fresh Connection, that means that smaller sizing on items such as white flesh peaches and white flesh nectarines–both popular items for export–has limited exports on those products. Also, a USDA program that survived budget cuts in the U.S. takes a good volume of smaller sizes, so there hasn't been too much pressure on the marketplace.
As for demand, domestic demand has been good, though likely eased somewhat post 4th of July holiday. "So pricing came down this week, and that's because shipments were a bit light on the early fruit," says Nelley. "Now we're getting into the volume part of the season, which means prices have adjusted. The weather is also favorable, so there haven't been any issues to reduce the crop."
Looking ahead in the short term, if this weather continues to be a bit milder and there are not numerous days of temperatures over 110°F, as has been seen in the past, the season is expected to continue on a positive trajectory. "I think the season will be a shot in the arm for consumers' confidence on what great items California peaches, plums, and nectarines are, and hopefully growers as well. This is a really good eating crop that hopefully gives growers some momentum, depending on their yields," says Nelley.
For more information:
David Nelley
The Fresh Connection
Tel: (+1) 805-721-2672
[email protected]
www.thefreshconnection.com
