Market Update for Stone Fruit
Week of December 4 – December 10
With the first Chilean bulk vessel scheduled to leave the port of Valparaiso on December 9th, the ETA to the U.S. East Coast is now the 27th. Lower pack outs due to several rains have also impacted exporters’ abilities to load containers prior to this first bulk vessel. This all adds up to less fruit in the market for Christmas. Retailers will do everything they can to have fruit before the holiday, so expect pressure for additional air shipments to meet that demand. Markets seem to be holding and we shouldn’t see much change for air fruit over the next two weeks. Currently, pricing ranges from $55.00 to $58.00 FOB Miami for XLG, and $62.00 to $66.00 FOB Miami for Jumbo and bigger.