Exports in December 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 5.885 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.