- Exports in January were a steady 8,977 tons, compared to 8,288 tons last year
- Year to date exports are 58,780 tons compared to 57,887 tons last year.
- Average price for diced apricots year to date is $2116 FOB compared to last year same period of $2172
- Average price for whole apricots year to date is $2753 FOB compared to $2757 same period last year
Prices are almost identical to last year with exports increasing by approximately 1.5% year to date. Crop was smaller than last year. With 6 months to go until new crop, we expect exports to approach 100,000 tons which will mean a tight transition to new crop and no carryover.
We expect prices to remain steady until frost period in March and April. In the event of a rare frost free bloom prices are still expected to remain unchanged until August given the tight supply situation. In the event of a frost prices will firm according to the severity.
The Turkish Lira has been stable over the past month and is currently at 5.99 to the $
Organic and natural apricots continue to trade at a significant premium to sulphured, and are all but sold out.
Winter has been a little milder than usual, but the trees are still fully dormant and no signs of an early blossom are yet visible.