New Jersey blueberry shipments are in good volume, while peach shipments have started in the last few days….Meanwhile, Northwest pear shipments should be the best in four years.
Blueberry shipments got underway in mid-June and will run through the end of July for Sunny Valley International Inc. of Glassboro, NJ.
In 2016, the most recent year where statistics are available, New Jersey’s 30 million pounds accounted for 12 percent of total domestic blueberry shipments. New Jersey’s share of the U.S. market was 20 percent of domestic production in June and 26 percent in July.
Fresh blueberry output in New Jersey accounts for about 80 to 85 percent of the crop, with the most of the production coming out of Atlantic and Burlington counties.
Long term acreage trends show 2016 harvested acreage of blueberries in New Jersey was 9,300 acres, down from 10,000 in 2015 and 9,300 acres in 2014.
NJ Peach Shipments
New Jersey peach shipments started this week and should have decent volume until the season ends in mid-September.
Peach shipments in 2016 came from 4,700 acres, according to the USDA, unchanged from 2016 and up 100 acres from 4,600 acres in 2014.
Peach shipments from New Jersey in 2016 totaled 5.2 million pounds, or about 1 percent of domestic peach shipments that year. New Jersey’s share of the domestic peach market was less than 1 percent in July, 3 percent in August, and 2 percent in September.
Northwest Pear Shipments
Pacific Northwest pear shipments are expected to be average this season with 18.8 million, 44-pound boxes following lighter crops four years in a row.
Pear shipments hit a record 21.69 million boxes in 2013, but every year since then the yield has been much lighter. Hot weather causing fruit drop and contributing to decay called cork is blamed for at least partially being responsible for the lighter crops.
The 18. 9 million-box estimate is just 58,345 boxes less than the five-year average of 18.9 million boxes. It is 18 percent bigger than the 2017 crop, which will soon finish at close to 15.9 million boxes.
The forecast will be updated in mid-August. Right now, the breakdown by growing district is: Wenatchee, 8.6 million boxes; Hood River, 7 million; Yakima, 2.4 million; and Medford, 751,200 boxes.
Harvest is forecast to start with Starkrimson in Hood River on Aug. 3 and will finish in late September or early October in higher elevations of Hood River and Leavenworth at the upper end of the Wenatchee Valley.