Being further south California is able to produce a crop earlier in the year. In 2009, the Pacific Northwest’s fresh cherry crop far exceeded preseason predictions, resulting in a flooded market and depressed prices. With lower yields, as was generally the case this year, f.o.b. California cherry prices remain sky high until they get into the Bing variety (around mid to late May), and then you start seeing prices go down a bit, but still remain on the high side as store sales are hard to come by. Cherries were still being picked at high elevation above Stemilt Hill south of Wenatchee as August turned to September, but Thurlby said the final tally will be very close to the May estimate of 20.2 million, 20-pound boxes. Want to learn more about the cherry season? prices would need to be higher still. Cabbage - 0.49¢ lb, $15.00 for a 50lb bag. You'll see exact shipping costs and arrival dates when you check out. Harvest started May 28 at Finley, south of Pasco. I still couldn’t resist, though. Help me build up the data by The WSU Extension fact sheet “2009 Cost Estimates of Establishing and Producing Sweet Cherries in Washington” can be downloaded from www.farm-mgmt.wsu.edu/treefruits.htm. It should be obvious (but I guess I better state it), The record is 26.4 million boxes in 2017. For club and COVID safety info. A done price? Packing and marketing costs vary, depending on the quality of the fruit, but could be $0.70 to $1.00 a pound. I've started collecting price information about the most common pick This gives them an early advantage over the Pacific Northwest growers, whose cherries arrive later in the season. The peak was 501,426 boxes on June 24 and the big weeks were those of June 22 and July 6. Canada was the top export market at 1.6 million boxes, China was second at close to 900,000 and South Korea was third at 754,000 boxes, he said. current price: $9.98 $ 9. China was 1.3 million boxes in 2019 despite a 63% tariff. During the 2010 season, they had already accepted prices with retailers before heavy storms hit the Pasco and Mattawa areas on June 2. Only to be seen briefly appearing from South American and tasting like you were picked half a world away. to report them! reporting the PYO and already picked prices at the farms you go to! ), Copyright © 2020 Eat Like No One Else on the Foodie Pro Theme. It’s an easy thing to do when they taste so good and are only in season for a short period of time! Washington cherries from Chelan Fresh Marketing on sale in the East Wenatchee, Wash., Safeway store on June 14. For dark sweet cherries, the average was $25.95. But when they’re selling something that’s barely above the breakeven point to start with, we growers need to stand up and give them guidance before it gets so ugly.”, Al Robison, a grower in Chelan, Washington, who takes his cherries to the cooperative Chelan Fruit, said sometimes the contract price is a little low, depending on how the crop comes in. Simple supply and demand. are available! However, at the start of the season, some packers start out selling 1.33 pound bags to help ease consumers into the high price of cherries. canners are out n addition to predicted fluctuations, there can also be temperature fluctuations. [irp posts=”23732″ name=”Best Tools for Pitting (Alot of) Cherries”]. when they are being harvested all over North America. Chance of rain 60%. When Washington arrive you will start seeing prices around $4.99 per pound or less. Demand was the strongest we have seen on a crop that wasn’t as short as expected,” Thurlby said. Here, you will find more “imperfect” cherries, such as double cherries, but they will be cheaper than a traditional grocery store and and as long as you inspect them to make sure they are firm and without pathogen growth, you will be good to go! Muscadines, Scuppernongs, Peaches, Pumpkins, Raspberries, Strawberries, donation to help me pay to keep the website going, please make a donation to me Just to give you an idea of what some less common PYO crops cost to pick, here are some recent random prices we've seen: In NY state: Beets- $1.60 per pound; Cucumbers = $1.25 per pound; Kale- $3.00 per pound; Peas = $1.25 per pound; Snow peas- $3.00 a pound; String Beans = $1.25 per pound; Sweet peas- $2.00 a pound; Yellow beans- $2.00 per pound The two main issues I normally encounter with cherry quality are: Historically, I have had the best bet with cherries at Costco. Washington’s sweet cherry production value was $393 million in 2019 and averaged $451 million over the preceding five years, according to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Qty. Eating what’s in season is my jam (I also make it! He doubts that the industry could have set the price high enough last season because of the low yields they had overall. page for simple, reliable, illustrated canning, freezing or preserving Retail prices were high and consumers still made the purchase because quality was so good,” Focht said. In June, Focht said the average was about $52 per box, the week of June 14-21, which was $16 higher than the same time the year before.