Grapes, melons, citrus primary focus for fall at Chuck Olsen
Grapes, melons, citrus primary focus for fall at Chuck Olsen
Fresh California grapes are the primary focus for the Chuck Olsen Co. in Visalia, CA, for the fall season, along with melons and citrus, according to Vice President Jeff Olsen. The company also does “a little bit” of tree fruit that carries into the early fall period.
In citrus, the Chuck Olsen Co. sells the DiMare deal out of Indio, CA, which will start around the end of September and continue through February and possibly into March, Mr. Olsen said. This will be the second season that Olsen has been exclusive sales agent for the DiMare Co. Indio. It will consist principally of lemons, grapefruit, Minneolas and Murcott and Tango tangerines.
“The overall crop down there this year looks to be a normal size, where last year we were probably 40 to 50 percent off on volume,” he said. Quality “looks very good down there.”
The company’s total volume for the DiMare citrus deal is expected to be around 800,000 boxes.
In the melon category, the company was currently involved in the Westside melon deal out of California’s San Joaquin Valley.
In grapes, the company’s harvest in the San Joaquin Valley started earlier than last year, “and we have much better product this year — much better quality than we have had the last couple of years,” Mr. Olsen said.
“Overall, for the industry, we’ve got a very, very nice-quality crop,” he said. “Barring any major weather catastrophes,” that should continue and will “help move fruit off the shelf.” Demand has been good as well, he added.
By the first of September, “we will be going on Crimsons. We will be going on Thompsons. We will be going on Autumn Royals, Scarlet Royals and Red Globes,” as well as Princess and Sweet Scarlet, he said. Later in the month, Autumn Kings will start. “That is our line-up for fall.”
Olsen has picked up a couple of new growers this year, which should increase the company’s volume by around 20 percent.
