Frozen Blueberries: US Cold storage holdings are 21 million pounds (32%) ahead of last year. Since cultivated blueberries are grown in the West, Northeast, Midwest, Northwest and the South the chance of any major national crop failure is remote. If Michigan has a short crop, the West and Northwest will should make up the volume.
Frozen Raspberries: Growers are saying that the Pacific Northwest is set to have a large crop with excellent quality. Pricing of the remaining inventory from Chile has gone up substantially. Which means that raspberries from North America will be priced lower than last year, but not as low as Chile's opening prices in the winter.
RTP Cherries: Anticipating a crop failure in Michigan [See May 21 post from Coloma Frozen Foods there], many buyers are covering their needs with cherries from Poland. Pricing is about 45% higher than last year and there is every reason to believe that Polish cherries will sell out.
DS Cherries: As with RTP cherries, the crop is a wipe out in Michigan due to the March thaw and freeze. Other sources of supply are Turkey and the Pacific Northwest, but there is no way that either can cover the needs of North America. Another alternative this coming winter will be the Chilean crop. Pricing is expected to go up by at least 25% over last year.
