Cranberries, The harvest is at our doorstep
The latest harvest estimates suggest slightly better results than last year, but we are far from an excellent harvest. The current harvest will stabilize the inventory situation with no surplus. The market is still suffering the consequences of the last harvest. The combination of poorer-than-expected, but not catastrophic, weather and the low inventories of the past few years leaves the situation on a razor’s edge and will support pressure for higher prices.
In Canada
This spring, we were hoping for warmer and drier weather for the upcoming summer season. With a rainy summer and cool days, the conventional cranberry crop was in the normal range. For the organic sector, the conditions must be perfect in order to have a performance that meets our expectations. These climatic issues greatly affected crops and resulted in a decrease in organic production areas in Quebec. On the west coast of Canada, weather conditions were not conducive to optimal yields; a decrease in volume is expected. Fortunately, the reddening of the cranberries leads us to believe that the fruit will be of very beautiful color and of excellent quality.
In the United States
This year, the US certainly didn’t have the desired spring temperature for the flowering and pollination period. Indeed, the drought experienced in Massachusetts affected the number of cranberries produced. Water reserves drastically decreased in some areas, which is worrisome in terms of protecting the fruit from freezing should such a weather event occur in the next few weeks. In Wisconsin, the situation is similar after a difficult spring, but a summer that lived up to our expectations.
