Market Update for Stone Fruit

Week of December 1 – December 7

The Chilean cherry industry is primed to take advantage of strong promotional activity slated for December and January. Retailers have had few fruit options to highlight, so the early start for Chile will feed right into Christmas ads. This will be the litmus test for the rest of the season. The quality this season is expected to improve, with significantly better logistics and faster transit times to the U.S. east coast. Consumers should jump on board with $4.99 or lower retails for the holiday season, building momentum for peak arrivals just after the New Year. The Chilean cherry commission just reduced the crop by 15%, with the expected exported volumes to reach 115 million 5 kilo boxes. With Chinese New Year falling late on February 17th, growers have been happy to send increased early cherries to the U.S. market. Chile will still export more than 90% of its crop to China, with grower’s hopeful that they will see a better late market in Asia. We should see another week of higher cost air fruit, with Jumbos ranging from $46.00 to $52.00 FOB. Ocean arrivals should be available by the second week in December, where we will see pricing for Jumbo cherries trading from $36.00 to $38.00 FOB.