Though a number of Northwest cherry shippers are closing up their packing houses for the season, there are still plenty of growers picking and packing some of the best fruit of the year. Mindful of the heat, growers are operating in the cooler parts of the day to make sure that the promotable volumes of fresh sweet cherries will continue to flow for the next several weeks. Some of our very latest growers expect they will pick all the way through the month of August, though volume will dip as the month progresses.
As it stands, the 5 and 10 day averages have dropped below the half-million box mark for the first time since late June. Currently, our 10 day average is 372,455 boxes (20#) per day, and our 5-day average is 390,463 boxes daily. While shipment correlation has still to occur, it seems apparent that 2017 will indeed break all previous shipping records from the Northwest in terms of total volume, stretch of 500,000+ box days, and largest daily volume. Over the month of July, we shipped 15.2 million boxes of cherries, which is 529,000 boxes more than the Round 3 estimate, or within 3.5 percent.
It is important to note that there is ample opportunity for promotions during the month of August. The cherry category remains a key driver for summer produce department profits – and this year August presents a unique opportunity for the trade! Soon the air will cool and bring Fall and Back-to-School promotions, but for the entire month of August, retailers have an opportunity to boost their sales with the Number One Dollar per Square Foot Item in their produce department.
Source: Northwest Cherry Growers
