California stone fruit is almost over for some varieties. “The yellow nectarines are finished in the middle of September. The white peaches have one more week left and we are completely finished with the white nectarines,” said Mauricio Jiménez-Castro, commercial director of Prima Wawona. “We’ll continue to have plums until the end of September and peaches until the end of October.”
This ending comes after a late start to the season, although the stone fruit season schedule is now fixed. However, another challenge arose throughout the season, Hurricane Hilary last month. “It’s had an impact on the fruit in terms of yield, although luckily for us our late peach program is going well. We’ve also had a very cold spring which has affected the fruit yield, so our volumes have been a sector is unexpected,” he said, pointing out that, in general, it is a loss of 15-20% in volume and that organic stone fruit is more affected than conventional stone fruit.
Higher prices this time
As for demand, it is strong, especially after the lack of fruit in the southern states and central areas at the beginning of the year. “With less available product and stronger demand, we have achieved higher prices than last year,” said Jiménez-Castro, noting that prices will likely remain stable in time left. “We are talking to our main partners to support us in maintaining higher prices. One of the reasons is to help producers get better yields for the farm,” he said.
Looking ahead, the Prima Wawona peach program will remain strong until the end of next month. “There is another good opportunity to promote stone fruit after Labor Day. It is a good opportunity to extend the season, because the peaches do not disappear when the summer ends,” concluded Jiménez- Castro.
