Northwest growers wrap up better season

Cherry growers see strong prices, longer season than last year

By DAN WHEAT

Capital Press

The Pacific Northwest is wrapping up its fourth-largest cherry harvest on record and prices are holding at a level much higher than a year ago.

"Growers did better but still a lot of them had light crops of only one-third or half their normal volumes," said Dan Kelly, assistant manager of Washington Growers Clearing House Association in Wenatchee, Wash.

A record 20.4 million box crop in 2009 dropped the average wholesale price for all varieties of Washington cherries to $27.54 per box. This year's average was $40.25 and in 2008 it was $48.83 on a short crop of 9.7 million boxes, Kelly said. A box weighs 20 pounds.

As of Aug. 30, slightly more than 14 million boxes of cherries had been shipped this season and a few cherries were still being picked on the slopes of Oregon's Mount Hood, according to Northwest Cherry Growers of Yakima, Wash.

Prices ranged from $22 a box for some early varieties in The Dalles, Ore., to $50 a box for some late varieties. Most sales were at $35 to $42 a box, said Ken Bailey of Orchard View Farms, a packer-grower in The Dalles.

California finished its harvest in June at more than 8 million boxes, close to its record crop of 8.7 million boxes in 2008. An 11 million box crop had been anticipated, but rain took a toll.

"All in all, it wasn't a disaster, but a lot of potential didn't come to pass," Jim Culbertson, executive manager of the California Cherry Advisory Board, said in June. He could not be reached for comment Monday.

Early varieties in the Pacific Northwest were damaged by poor weather. The crop was forecast at 16.1 million boxes on May 1 and at 13.8 million on June 10.

Overall, the Northwest crop "closely mirrors our rolling nine-year average," said B.J. Thurlby, president of Northwest Cherry Growers and the Washington State Fruit Commission.

Harvest was not as compressed as in 2009, and fruit size and quality was "fantastic" this year, said James Michael, promotions director of Northwest Cherry Growers and the Fruit Commission.

About 73 percent of the crop was 10.5-row and larger, one of the all-time highs, Thurlby said.

This year 10.4 million boxes of cherries were shipped in the first 47 days, compared with 18 million a year earlier, a compression that glutted the market.

Northwest shipments usually start June 1, but were pushed back to June 8 this year. That prevented desired volume for Fourth of July holiday sales.

About 27 percent of the crop was shipped in June, the same as in 2009. That was better than 22 percent in 2008, Michael said. The average from 1999 through 2010 is 39 percent, and highs were 45 percent in 2007 and 60 percent in 2005, he said.

Shipments ramped up more slowly this year as a cool, wet May delayed maturity. It took 11 days to reach 100,000 boxes shipped per day and 15 days to reach 250,000 a day, Michael said. That compares with four days and six days in 2009, he said.

It's important to note, he said, that volume is shifting to the later end.

About 28 percent of the crop was exported, which is close to normal.

Capital Press reporter Mitch Lies contributed to this report.

PNW cherry crops in millions of 20-pound boxes

2010 14.0

2009 20.4

2008 9.7

2007 14.6

2006 14.4

2005 11.7

2004 11.0

2003 11.1

2002 10.4

2001 9.7

2000 7.9

Source: Northwest Cherry Growers