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Prune plums emerge from tough British Columbia stone fruit season

Following a season of virtually no stone fruit from British Columbia (B.C.), prune plums from the region are shipping though the crop is short. "There was still a good decent crop though," says Gagan Grewal of HG Produce in Abbotsford, B.C., noting that the prune plums are a later crop compared to peaches and apricots in B.C.

While regular plums are a bit sweeter and bigger, prune plums aren't as sweet and smaller in size and come from the Okanagan region of the province. Harvest began two weeks ago and will finish in another week.

Along with B.C., there is some prune plum production in both Ontario and Washington.

As for quality? "The fruit that did get harvested had good quality," says Grewal.

Grewal says despite a season of virtually no stone fruit from British Columbia, prune plums from the region are shipping though the crop is short.

Pent-up stone fruit demand
Not surprisingly, given the lack of stone fruit supply from B.C. this summer, demand is very strong for prune plums. Pricing for the fruit looks similar to last year at this time.

Along with a challenging stone fruit season due to weather, at the end of July, the B.C. Tree Fruits Cooperative, an organization representing more than 300 growers in the province, abruptly closed, leaving numerous growers stranded to ship their fruit. "It was shocking news. A lot of people don't know where to go now and they are leaving fruit on the trees," says Grewal. "So all of the private packers are taking in more volume and more people are trying to sell privately too."

Notably, last week NOVEM purchased BC Tree Fruits' largest controlled atmosphere and cold chain storage facility in Kelowna, B.C. It has also agreed to lease the facility on an emergency basis to allow the tree-fruit industry in the province to avoid the loss of as many as 25 million pounds of apples.

For more information:
Gagan Grewal
HG Produce
Tel: +1 (604) 832-0945
[email protected]
https://hgproduceltd.com/