Washington apricot crop slated for mid-June
Washington apricot crop slated for mid-June
The Washington fresh apricot crop should hit the market by about the middle of June and be fairly close to the 642,000 24-pound cartons that were produced last year, according to James Michael, vice president of marketing for North America for the Washington State Fruit Commission.
James said that represents about 30 percent of the total crop from the West, with California leading the way with about 70 percent, or 1.5 million cartons. He noted there are also some small production areas in several East Coast states. The Produce News, quoting from a now-out-of-date website previously maintained by the defunct California Apricot Advisory Board and the California Fresh Apricot Council, published an article earlier this week online that California represents about 95 percent of U.S. production. That article will also appear in the April 20 issue of the publication. At most, California represents 70 percent of the crop, and it may likely be a bit less than that when all the shipped fruit from every regions is calculated at the end of the season.
James said the Washington crop is progressing well with very good spring weather conditions expected to produce a high-quality product. He said the trees appear to have a little lighter set but he anticipated fresh market production would be very close to last year. Washington apricots should be in the marketplace for about a month until mid-July.