California organic winter citrus is in peak supply right now. At Homegrown Organic Farms, they are currently packing organic blood oranges, Cara Caras, grapefruit, lemons, mandarins, navels and pomelos.
Morris says citrus is in peak supply now for the next 90 days or so with promotable volumes.
“Initially we started 10 days to two weeks late and we’ve seen most of the varietals follow suit after that,” said Craig Morris, citrus category director for Homegrown Organic Farms who adds that the late start was weather-related. “However, we’re in the peak now for the next 90 days or so with promotable volumes.”
The initial crop estimates have shifted as well. “With all the varieties, it looked like we were down 15 to 20 percent but it’s picking out heavier than anticipated so we’re making up ground. Now our crop is only down about 10 percent,” says Morris, noting there had been a lot of insect damage in the spring which prompted the anticipation that pack-outs would be lower than they are. “The pack outs are outperforming our expectations and it’s buying us a few more cartons.” He also adds that sizing is peaking in the middle of the size structure which is ideal for both bagging and bulk programs.
Eating more at home?
As for demand, it’s good across all the commodities and stronger than expected. “I think that what we’re experiencing is because of inflation and the cost of families going out to dinner. They’re going to the grocery store more and doing more cooking at home,” says Morris. “Our rings at the register are quite high as far as movement.”
Organic citrus looks to be down approximately 10 percent from last year's crop.
He says many retailers are echoing that sentiment--that movement and demand are good on winter organic citrus that is generally about 10 percent higher in price than last year. “The only difference this year is that our dollar isn’t going as far. It’s almost like when we were in COVID and you were forced to go to the grocery store because you couldn’t go to the restaurant. Now it’s expensive and people can’t afford the restaurants as much so they’re doing more shopping,” he says.
Looking ahead, Morris expects this kind of movement to continue and says Homegrown Organic Farms are moving through a lot more fruit than had been anticipated at this point. “We’ll be able to continue at a good clip and service our customer’s needs without flooding the marketplace with too much fruit,” he says.
For more information:
Elise Smith
Homegrown Organic Farms
Tel: +1 (559) 306-1777
[email protected]
https://www.hgofarms.com/