Closure of Sage Fruit sales desk triggers shake-up of Washington fruit volumes for 2025 – Good Fruit Grower

The brand new yr kicked off with some new alignments within the Washington tree fruit trade, following the closure of the Sage Fruit gross sales desk on the finish of 2024. It’s one more signal of the challenges dealing with the tree fruit trade.Sage Fruit represented a partnership between vertically built-in fruit firms primarily based within the Yakima Valley: Legacy Fruit, Valicoff Fruit Co., Olympic Fruit and Congdon Orchards. In 2022, Chelan Fruit joined Sage Fruit.Now, these firms are headed their separate methods. Olympic Fruit and Congdon Orchards will be part of Rainier Fruit, firm representatives confirmed.“The grower-packers’ varietal mixes will completely praise Rainier’s menu, rising provide of consumer-favorite Honeycrisp and Cosmic Crisp apples in addition to the highest pear varietals,” based on an announcement from Rainier Fruit.Legacy Fruit and Chelan Fruit, each owned by PNW Tree Fruit — Worldwide Farming’s umbrella firm for its orchard and warehouse operations within the Pacific Northwest — will be part of CMI Orchards, based on an organization consultant. Valicoff Fruit didn’t return requests for remark. Dean Gardner, a former government at Legacy Fruit and a self-styled trade watchdog who shares tree fruit information, traits and evaluation on LinkedIn, stated the Sage Fruit closure is an indication of the occasions because the trade struggles with an apple oversupply and low returns.“I’ve been a part of the Sage household for years, and it’s unhappy, extraordinarily unhappy,” he stated. “What it comes all the way down to is we develop too many apples right here. What’s killing everyone at this time is retailers are capable of purchase most apples for under the price of manufacturing.”Sadly, right-sizing the trade necessitates eradicating orchards and closures of packing strains and gross sales desks, Gardner added.“Till that occurs, this trade goes to be in ache,” he stated. —by Kate Prengaman 



Source link