The California date industry is looking forward to an excellent season with volumes of fruit in the fresh market B category unusually outstripping processing-quality class C fruit.
"This year the summer in the Coachella Valley was not as scorching hot as normal," said Lorrie Cooper of the California Date Administrative Committee . "We averaged only 110°F with no 120°F temperatures which can dry fruit out. So the dates went into the autumn bigger, fuller and fluffier across all varieties."
The harvest began in October but with lower average late summer temperatures down around 90°F, fruit development was slightly delayed and so has continued into this month rather than finishing in December.
"About 95 per cent of the dates are off the trees," said Cooper. "About 95 per cent of the crop is Deglet Nour but Medjool volumes are growing steadily and this year account for about three per cent of the crop.
Volumes are forecast to reach 28 million to 30m lbs. This is up on last season's 25m lgs which was the lowest yield in the Californian industry's 92-year history due in part to the biennial bearing effect.
The Californians are hoping to target more of their sendings to Europe this year. But traditionally they have found it hard to compete with North African and Middle Eastern sources on price due to the proximity and cheap labour of those sources to their destination markets.
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