Agronometrics in Charts: High-priced Chilean plum season ends as California gears up

This week we’re going to take a look at fresh plums in the U.S. market. The first half of 2021 is ending with significantly higher prices than the last few years, as can be seen below.

The market is supplied mainly by Chile during the first few months of the year, followed by California.

Average spot market prices during the first four months of this year were $2.24 per kilo, which is up 19 percent year-on-year. It seems that this increase was not driven by lower supplies, with volumes this year similar to the previous year.

Historically, Chile and California have been the main plum suppliers to the U.S. market, although there have been smaller volumes from Argentina, Idaho, New Zealand and Mexico.

However, California supplies have decreased dramatically over the last two decades, while Chilean volumes have remained fairly stable.

In the chart below, we can observe how volumes from Chile have been relatively similar over the last couple of years, indicating that supply volume was not the principal reason for the increased pricing this year.

As for California volumes, supplies have also been similar over the last couple of years.

It is possible that the increased prices are related to the Covid-19 pandemic and the related increase in consumption of certain fruits.

Whatever the reason, we will be closely watching how the 2021 California plum season unfolds.

Written by: Cristian Crespo F.
Original published in FreshFruitPortal.com on June 01, 2021 (Link)