Harvest is underway on a slightly lower crop of California clementines this year. "We started harvesting a couple of weeks ago and the eating quality is probably the best I've ever had in the 21 years I've been here," says Al Bates, president of Sun Pacific Shippers. "It's starting off the season really well."
In fact, harvesting was done a bit ahead of recent rains in California to mitigate any supply gaps. "You can't pick clementines wet or you'll end up with a lot of decay so we worked ahead. Now we probably have a little more fruit in storage than maybe normally at this time of year. I would rather do that than pick immediately after the rain," says Bates.
In all, the transition from imported mandarins–namely from Chile–to California has been good. Some imports are expected to continue to come throughout the end of the month. "We did start harvesting a little bit earlier so there were probably about two weeks of decent carryover of imported product going against the California supply," he says.
© Sun Pacific
Good week for clementine movement
That said, last week, a week ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving, is typically a brisk week for produce movement, including clementines. "This means we're finally moving away from imports and into California," says Bates, adding that the imported clementines are smaller sized as well.
Meanwhile, with good sizes in California peaking between 24-28, demand is steady. "Last year there might have been more imports in for a longer period of time. This week we're going to have a really good week and hopefully we'll have enough volume to be able to meet the demand for next week," says Bates.
As for pricing, it's slightly lower than last year due in part to competitive pressure within the state for market share.
Sun Pacific Shippers will have its marketable crop of clementines until about mid-January and then it will transition into Tangos and later, Murcotts. "That crop appears to also be of similar size and very marketable and we also anticipate good quality all the way through," says Bates, adding that the crop could be slightly earlier due to the earlier start of clementines. "I expect to go into Tangos in January. There's an opportunity to get in there a little bit earlier, but the color of the fruit will be the big driver."
For more information:
Al Bates
Sun Pacific Shippers
Tel: +1 (213) 612-9957
https://sunpacific.com/
