Canadian Cranberries Causing Concern

Canadian Cranberries Causing Concern. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

Independent cranberry producers in Washington and Oregon are feeling the pinch as more cranberries imported from Canada are cutting into their narrow profit margins according to Kim Patten, WSU Extension Professor at WSU Long Beach.

PATTEN: It’s kind of unique in the sense that the Ocean Spray coop which is sort of the dominant player has been able to maintain the price that growers receive so they’ll be getting .60-.65 cents and that’s pretty much been the standard for the last half a dozen years or so in part because a lot of their fruit goes into the craisin market and when you

There is a double income stream when it comes to the production of craisins since you also get juice as well and it’s almost all handled out of a plant near Aberdeen.

PATTEN: Independent growers on the other hand, their prices, which used to be twice that of Ocean Spray has now dropped down into - they’re thinking single digits into the teens so that’s well below the cost of production. So a lot of the independents are very scared.

Patten says there are not a lot of independent producers in the state of Washington but Oregon is another matter. One of the key for these growers is niche markets.

PATTEN: For the independent Washington growers it’s the fresh fruit market and you can do pretty good on that so I think we’re capturing that market.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.