Washington cherries

"Things are going really good." one market observer told me this afternoon. "We have lots of size and lots of quality." Cherries are peaking on 10s and 10.5s, with fewer smaller sizes around. The spot market has been outstanding, the source said. With the volume of crop in Washington, a significant volume is committed at a preset price. "You can't wait until the day and sell them; it would be physically impossible."

Shippers are pleased with the deal, with some areas already peaking and declining with bing harvest. No one is certain what will happen after the July 4 - and some are way after the market performance post July 4 last year - but the market psychology is pretty good.

Season to date truck shipments of Washington cherries through June 23 were 27.8 million pounds, up from 26 million pounds the same time last year. Season to date air shipments were 10.9 million, up from 2.7 million the same time a year ago.