RSSSmall cherry crop gives growers the blues
The cold spring decreased the region's cherry crop, resulting in higher prices at the store and a key promotion loss for retailersYakima Herald-Republic
Maria Padilla plucks a Bing Cherry from a tree at the Rowe Farms near Naches, Wash. on July 8, 2008. The volume of this year's crop is less than usual though the size of the fruit is larger. The crop was not damaged by recent rain.
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NACHES -- In a matter of 10 minutes, two men came to Morgan Rowe to pick fruit at the orchard he co-owns off Old Naches Highway, outside of Naches.
Rowe turned both of them away.
It's easy to see why. While some trees were filled with big, juicy dark red cherries, others were full of nothing but bark and leaves.
Rowe's had to pay 20 to 33 cents a pound, compared to about 17 cents last season, to make it worthwhile for the pickers he was able to hire.
Workers at the 80-acre orchard have picked, at best, about 5 tons per acre. At worst, they've picked just 11/2 tons per acre. On a good year, a worker could pick at least 6 to 7 tons per acre.
But for Rowe, a fifth-generation grower, he's just glad he has a crop.
"A few months ago we were unsure what we could pick," he said.
Unusually cold spring weather decreased the volume of the region's cherry crop, leaving some growers with little or no fruit and delaying the harvest for everyone else.
But the effects of the freeze isn't limited to growers. It's affecting everyone from the pickers on Rowe's orchards to retailers and consumers around the world.
The Northwest cherry growing region, which includes five states, has shipped more than 3 million 20-pound boxes, compared to the 7 million normally shipped at this point in the harvest, which will continue through this month, according to the Northwest Cherry Growers.
And there's not much more coming. The region is expected to ship only about 8 million 20-pound boxes this season, just over half of the amount shipped a year ago. And it would barely match the 8.7 million 18-pound boxes the California cherry region harvested this spring.
"Overall, it will be hard for the growers to break even on the cherries they have this year," said B.J. Thurlby, president of the Northwest Cherry Growers.
Every few minutes, the flat-panel television at the produce aisle of Albertsons airs a promotion from the Northwest Cherry Growers. This time, a woman flashes a smile as she talks about how great the cherries look this year.It's true. The spring cold snap left most of the remaining crop on the large and sweet side.
What the segments don't mention, however, is the hefty price. On Wednesday, the Albertsons on 40th Ave-nue and Tieton Drive Bing cherries were selling for $5.99 a pound. Rainier cherries were $6.99 or $5.99 with a preferred shopper card.
Albertsons spokeswoman Donna Eggers said consumer demand for cherries has dropped about 10 percent to 15 percent from a year ago. But with a struggling economy, the trend may also reflect consumers cutting back in general.
"Consumer demand for more staple produce items, like bananas and lettuce, remain strong," she said.
Sonny Cook, a 76-year-old Yakima resident, loves cherries but admits that he hasn't purchased any since California cherries were on sale for $1.99 a pound a few months back.
Cheryl Myers, a 52-year-old Yakima resident, hasn't bought cherries since last year because she thinks the price is too high. She opts instead for watermelon for 29 cents a pound or cantaloupe for 28 cents a pound.
But she understands that it's been a tough season for growers. "It's a no-win situation," she said.
Others are willing to pay the extra cost.
Twenty-five-year-old Rachael Wurtz of Selah wants to instill healthy eating habits in her children, who enjoy eating cherries. "Even though they're expensive, we get (cherries) instead of chips," she said.
Typically, cherries are a big promotional tool for retailers. The fruit is considered an impulse buy for shoppers and garners solid returns.
This year, cherries aren't featured as much in the produce aisle or in the supermarket circular.
For the last two seasons, there's been plenty of big, bright-colored cherries to sell, making it easier to organize promotions and price the fruit at levels that are appealing to consumers, said Loren Queen, marketing and communications manager for Domex Superfresh Growers, a growing, packing and shipping firm in Yakima.
But retailers received a reality check this year. With a shorter crop driving the price of cherries, it was just not realistic for retailers to expect the same prices for their summer promotions, at least without making any major adjustments, Queen said.
Some retailers have managed to make such adjustments.
Those shopping at Costco might notice the cherry packages are a little smaller this year. The Issaquah-based wholesaler typically sells Bing cherries in 4-pound boxes and Rainier cherries in 3-pound boxes.
But with the crop shortage driving prices up, Costco has reduced the size of the two packages to 3 pounds and 2 pounds, respectively, to keep the packages below $10 each.
The move has helped Costco somewhat, but has not prevented declining cherry sales, said John Haycox, an assistant buyer for Costco. The sales volume for cherries last week, when sales would be at their peak, was down 23 percent from the same period a year ago.
"We've had better availability of blueberries and strawberries," he said. "There are a lot more options for consumers, so they're choosing not to buy cherries as much, because they're a luxury item."
About 20 percent of the Northwest crop is expected to be sent abroad. It's the same percentage as the year before, but given the smaller crop, the amount will be proportionally less.
And California, which had a record cherry harvest this year, certainly took advantage of the shortage.
South Korea, which was seen as the Northwest cherries' fastest growing market, received roughly a half-million 18-pound boxes of California cherries this year, nearly double the nearly 277,000 boxes of Northwest cherries the Asian country imported the year before, Thurlby said.
The Northwest Cherry Growers hoped to ship 300,000 to 400,000 boxes this season. But that goal will likely be out of reach this year. Thurlby is expecting shipments of 150,000 to 160,000 boxes, well above shipments two years ago, but a disappointment after the rapid growth a year ago.
"Now that California did 500,000, it sets the bar," Thurlby said.
In contrast, the United Kingdom may be the one bright spot for the Northwest cherry industry. With the weak U.S. dollar relative to the British pound, prices are competitive.
Cold and rainy weather created a shortage of Turkish cherries, leaving a void that Northwest cherries could fill. The region is expected to match last year's shipment of 310,000 boxes.
"That gives me a hope that for a great July in Europe," Thurlby said.
Indeed, while Costco had declines in domestic cherry sales, the company's United Kingdom stores had an increase in sales from the previous year, Haycox said.
Back in the Upper Yakima Valley, Rowe looks around and points to the top of one tree.
The top is full of cherries, he notes. In contrast, the bottom is full of leaves.
When the cold weather came through, the little bit of extra elevation gave the top of the tree enough warmth to protect itself from frost damage.
For Rowe, this season has shown how small differences can dictate whether he makes money come harvest time.
While he lost most of his crop in the Naches area, most of the crops in his Lower Valley orchard stayed intact, thanks to his "frost pond."
Pipes are attached to large man-made body of water, which allows mass quantities of water to be distributed throughout the orchard. During the chilly night, the water will freeze, providing a shield for the cherries.
He still lost half of the crop, but Rowe thinks he will make money this year. He knows he'll be one of the lucky ones.
But he won't be pushing that luck next year. He's already begun installing a frost pond for the Upper Valley orchard.
"It happened once, and we don't want to happen again," he said.
Northwest cherry shipments
(in 20-pound boxes)
2003: 10.8 million
2004: 11 million
2005: 11.7 million
2006: 14.7 million
2007: 14.7 million
2008 (estimate): 8 million
Source: Northwest Cherry Growers
* Mai Hoang can be reached at 577-7685 or mhoang@yakimaherald.com.
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