Volume of California’s 2020-21 navel orange crop is forecast to be down slightly from last year, while quality and fruit size should be good, said Casey Creamer, president of Exeter-based California Citrus Mutual.
Oranges showed a 47% increase in dollar sales for the 13-week period ending Sept. 6 compared to the same period a year ago, and a 45% increase in volume sales, according to IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm.
Picking could start as early as the first week of October in Kern County in the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley and by mid-October in other parts of the state.
Volume is estimated to be 81 million 40-pound cartons in California’s Central Valley and 84 million overall, Creamer said.
That’s down about 5% from last season.
California experienced a “fairly mild summer,” he said, with some hot days but cooler nights, that allowed the trees “time to rest and cool down.”
Wildfires spewed smoke throughout the state, but Creamer did not expect any negative impact on fruit quality.
“People are pretty excited about the crop they have on the tree and the market that’s there,” he said.
Navel oranges have been the real winners since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, said Zak Laffite, president of Dinuba, Calif.-based Wonderful Citrus.
“Navel orange consumption this year versus last year (was) up almost 40% in the summertime,” he said.
“People have really gone to oranges as the old, traditional source of vitamin C,” he speculated.
Booth Ranches LLC, Orange Cove, Calif., will start picking navel oranges the second week of October, said Tracy Jones, chief operating officer and senior vice president of sales.
“We plan to pick mid-October to the end of June,” she said.
Quality of the 2020-21 navel crop looks good, she said.
“We have started taking the California maturity tests, and we have several blocks that are ready to go,” Jones said in late September. “We should start with good supplies and hopefully not slow down.”
Estimated fruit size looks normal to a half size larger than normal, she said.
The coronavirus pandemic has prompted an uptick in citrus sales.
“It may slow down from the current pace; however, we are anticipating it will still be in higher demand (compared) to the same time last year.”
Suntreat Packing & Shipping Co., Dinuba, Calif., expected a slightly smaller navel crop than last year’s, said Dan Kass, vice president of import/export sales and marketing.
Volume may be down 5%-8%, but sizing should be larger, and that’s a good thing, he said, since small sizes can be more challenging to move.
“We have what looks to be a good, right-sized crop on the tree,” he said.
Summer imports were mostly gone, so the navel pipeline will be pretty much cleared out when California starts, he said.
Kass said he expected a “good, orderly transition” from the Southern Hemisphere fruit to product from California.
“Generally, there’s good optimism in the industry for a strong season,” he said.
Suntreat was expected to kick off its navel season around the week of Oct. 19.
Delano, Calif.-based Hronis Inc. will have additional availability this season because of new acquisitions, said Jennifer Lobue, citrus category manager.
The company expected to start harvesting navels during the beginning of November, she said, and will offer them until June.
“The quality of fruit on the tree looks to be great,” she said. “We will have good availability across all sizes.
The company experienced an increase in sales at the beginning of the pandemic,” Lobue said, “and we expect that to continue until things get under control.”
Navels have faced strong competition from mandarins, but Lobue remained optimistic about the navel category.
“Over the years, many (growers) have replaced navels with other types of citrus like mandarins,” she said.
“Although mandarins are very popular, I feel like navels are holding their own at this time with the acreage that is left.”
Related Content:
South Africa citrus exports enjoy record year
