Market Update for Stone Fruit

Week of November 4 – November 10

China has been receiving most of the early air shipments of Chilean cherries, as growers know they have a very short window to obtain super high prices. Currently, a 5-kilo box is selling for $150.00 or more, but those prices will only last another week. The spike in early volumes this year will put a tremendous amount of pressure on air space, as exporters will be fighting for every available flight to both the U.S. and China. Even though we expect much more volume, the market will depend on logistics until mid-December. Growers won’t start packing ocean containers for the U.S. until week 47 and 48, so we will be relying on air fruit for the next 5 to 6 weeks. We should see limited availability this week, with pricing ranging from $65.00 to $75.00 FOB Miami depending on size.