Cherry Estimates from USDA
From the Ag Information Network, this is today’s Fruit Grower Report. U.S. sweet cherry production for this year is forecast at 355,000 tons, up slightly from last year.
Starting down south, the USDA’s Lance Honig says things are looking pretty good …
HONIG … “If you look in California, in particular, that’s still a very large crop. They’re actually coming off a near-record last season, and so even though it’s down in California, it’s still a very big crop there. A little bit below average crop in Washington but still good size.”
The estimates, Honig says come with a qualifier …
HONIG … “That total national number of 355,000 tons, technically you could say is up three-tenths of a percent from last year’s production. But if you take Michigan out of the mix since they weren’t counted in the total last year, we’re actually looking at a 5.9% decrease from last year for those remaining three states that we measured, both season”
So, Honig says not bad, overall …
HONIG … “And that is largely because we saw a smaller, or are expecting a smaller crop in both California and Washington, and they are by far the dominant producers in the sweet cherries here in the U.S.”
As for consumers …
HONIG … “So, down a bit nationally, we’re actually still looking at an average or above average size crop. So, availability should not be an issue this year for the sweet cherries.”
Washington and Oregon combined is estimated at 228,000 tons, down about 3.4% from last year … but quality this year is outstanding.
