With shipments of organic apricots and cherries starting this week from California’s San Joaquin Valley, a nonstop flow of domestic organic stone fruit from the West should be available to retailers for the next five to six months.

“We are starting with organic apricots next week [April 29–May 6} and will have organic peaches and nectarines starting between May 8 and May 15,” said Stephen Paul, deciduous category director for Porterville, California-based Homegrown Organic Farms, on April 27. “It looks like a good crop of stone fruit this season—not exceptionally heavy but definitely not light.”

Stephen Paul, Deciduous Category Director, Homegrown Organic Farms

Homegrown is expecting to have a solid offering of organic stone fruit from California as late as September, beginning with apricots and apriums and continuing through the summer with white and yellow peaches and nectarines as well as several different varieties of plums and pluots. Paul said there will be promotional opportunities for organic stone fruit throughout the season.

“For Mother’s Day [May 12], there should be good supplies of apricots. Peaches, nectarines, and apricots should be promotable for Memorial Day, and that will roll us into June,” he said. “From June 15 to July 15, there should be plenty of fruit to promote.”

Paul said supplies of organic stone fruit should be solid with the situation allowing for a good balance between supply and demand to keep the FOB prices “at a level good for the dirt [the grower] and good for the consumer.”

He noted that if prices get too low, the grower suffers, and if they get too high on the front end of the deal, demand can be stifled, which is difficult to overcome as supplies increase.

“From June 15 to July 15, there should be plenty of fruit to promote.” - Stephen Paul

Paul said one situation that will be closely watched this summer is the supply impact of the 2023 bankruptcy of the Prima Wawona company and the eventual sale of more than 13,000 acres during bankruptcy proceedings. The valley’s largest stone fruit grower-shipper’s acreage was sold to about a dozen entities and individuals in the San Joaquin Valley.

Included in that number are more than 1,000 acres of organic stone fruit. Though there has been no confirmation, the industry scuttlebutt is that about 60 percent of the organic acreage has been shifted back to conventional farming practice. Paul said if that estimate is accurate, it will impact the supply situation for organic stone fruit all summer and could lead to higher prices than anticipated.

“We really don’t know for sure how that’s going to play out,” he said, adding that everyone will be closely watching how much organic fruit is for sale the first month of the season to see if there is an unusual shortage.

On Monday, April 29, a bit further north, in Reedley, California, Fruit World Company Owner and CEO Bianca Kaprielian was observing the harvest of this season’s first California organic cherries, which will be followed within a week by some organic apricots. She admitted that both deals were relatively small, but Fruit World will have marketable supplies of each commodity into June.

Fruit World also represents a high-flavor, curated crop of organic apricots, peaches, and nectarines from Masumoto Family Farm that will be marketed from later in May through all of June and possibly into mid-July.

Bianca Kaprielian, CEO, Fruit World

Kaprielian characterized this season’s stone fruit crop “as being up a bit from last year … not substantially, but there is more fruit. And it’s earlier than last season. Last year, we got off to a very late start. This year, I’d say we are on time.”

Though there was some rain and hail in April, Kaprielian does not believe it did much damage to the always-sensitive cherry crop. However, she noted that organic cherries from California are typically in short supply as there are very few acres devoted to organics. “We will start off with a high price, and I’m sure it will come down in a week or two, but we should be in demand-exceeds-supply on organic cherries for at least 5–6 weeks,” she said.

Stemilt Growers, which is based in Wenatchee, Washington, may be the only packer with both a California and Washington organic cherry deal. Brianna Shales, the company’s marketing director, told OPN that Stemilt’s California cherry season kicks off this week, and supplies will gradually increase throughout May, reaching peak shipments in late May and into June.

Brianna Shales, Marketing Director, Stemilt

“Washington State is poised to start by early June, with potential for fruit to be harvested earlier in late May,” she said. “There will be an overlap between the two states and great promotion opportunities for cherries in June. This isn’t always the case, so we are encouraging retailers to set plans around June promotions to make the most of this cherry season.”

Shales added that Stemilt does have a limited number of organic dark-sweet cherries in California. “We will have first availability the second week of May that will gradually increase in late May, before winding down the first two weeks of June,” Shales said. “Organic cherries in California are considered opportunistic for organic-minded retailers. It’s important to stay in close contact with your cherry supplier to take advantage of any organic cherry volume.”

When the Washington deal starts, Shales added that Stemilt’s organic production will be greater. “For Washington cherries, we grow both organic dark-sweet and Rainier cherries,” she said. “Organic Rainiers are available for about two weeks beginning in mid-June, while organic dark-sweet cherries have more consistent supply from June 10 until the end of July.”

“There will be an overlap between the two states and great promotion opportunities for cherries in June. This isn’t always the case, so we are encouraging retailers to set plans around June promotions to make the most of this cherry season.” - Brianna Shales

Based on the bloom patterns, Stemilt is expecting to have peak availability of dark-sweet organic cherries in early July. “There will be availability prior to this and after to help retailers build display space for organics, or maintain it post promotion,” Shales said. “It’s ideal on something as limited as organic cherries to work closely with your suppliers on the best advertising methods (in-store, etc.). Organic cherries are a great way to bring dollars to the produce department because of their high-dollar ring and the impulse nature of shopper purchases.”

Speaking generally about this year’s cherry crop, Shales said the good news is that the 2024 crop is much more “normal” in timing compared to the record late start California experienced in 2023. “Timing is everything in cherries, so we are excited about the potential to hit key holiday promotional timing like Memorial Day for California and Fourth of July for Washington cherries,” she said, adding that the cherry season will end earlier this year, with limited supplies expected in late July and early August.