Bob Von Rohr, director of customer relations for Sunny Valley International headquartered in Glassboro, NJ, told The Produce News that the New Jersey peach crop had started 10 days earlier than normal due to the warm spring temperatures, normal winter chill and good moisture.

“We had outstanding bloom by about April 5, and with a full crop set,” said Mr. Von Rohr. “We are expecting a great crop, and we were tracking for an early start during [the week of June 25].”

Mr. Von Rohr said thatSunny Valley International’s Sentry peaches ready for the picking. good volumes of peaches would be available by early July, with peak volumes coming on in mid- to late July. The crop will run through the first or second week of September.

Each peach variety, he explained, has about a 10 day run, and each variety follows the previous one for a consistent flow throughout the season that ensures a steady supply of nice peaches.

“We measure quality by chill hours and what we are currently seeing on the trees,” noted Mr. Von Rohr. “Our barometer is how the nectarines look, and this year they are as clean as a whistle. That also translates into great quality on white and yellow peaches.”

White peaches start moving in mid-July, with the peak season starting the last week of the month. The crop begins tapering down the first week of September. The strength in the white peach category is the Klondike white, a large to very large, 90-100 percent pink-purplish-red-skinned, globose-shaped peach over a slightly cream-red ground color. The flesh is very firm with a very good sweet and sub-acid flavor. The tree is vigorous and moderately to lightly productive. The Klondike is a beautiful and very firm sub-acid peach.

“The nectarine run is very similar to that of white peaches,” said Mr. Von Rohr. They start in mid-July, peak in late July and run through the first week of September, and then the crop starts to taper down.”

Mr. Von Rohr said that New Jersey has some really nice late-season peach varieties that don’t get out to the retail trade as well as they could.

“There is a post-Labor Day trend in which retailers want to back off on peaches,” he said. “Even if they tell us earlier in the season that they’ll want late peaches, they start to cut us off; orders tend to drop way down. It’s a shame because we have really outstanding peaches through September 20 each year. We want the late-season support to help move this great crop.”

He explained that many years ago New Jersey was known for its apple and peach production. Over the years, growers got out of apple production and many tried instead to stretch their peach season.

Sunny Valley has been a supplier of fresh fruits and vegetables to the North American market since 1986. The company added domestic fresh fruits to its lineup in the mid-1990s. Besides peaches and nectarines, the company markets blueberries, grapes, pears, apples, Spanish clementines and avocados.

Sunny Valley is known to be a reliable supplier of key fruit items due to its long-term relationships with growers and exporters as well as its industry expertise and experience.

“We know who the players are and how to bring a quality fruit product to market,” said Mr. Von Rohr. “We are committed to developing and maintaining long-term relationships with our growers, exporters and customers that allow us to conduct fair and honest trade in the produce industry.”

Mr. Von Rohr added that the company’s peach-growing partners have made a commitment to a Primus Labs food-safety program to ensure the highest level of confidence to its customers.