07/20/05 Stone fruit expectations, Pt. 1

Washington's stone fruit growers are expected to get a nice boost this year as many crops have or are showing the appearance of above average numbers in terms of tonnage. Apricots, however, are expected to be close to last year's numbers. THURBLY: It looks like the total crop's going to be right around 3,500 to 4,000 twenty-pound equivalent cartons, so it's going to be a good crop, not a record crop, on apricots. B.J. Thurlby of the Washington State Fruit Commission says apricot harvest should wrap up in a couple of weeks. He says reports show this year's apricots are on average big in size. Couple that with a chance to extend the marketing season due to poor weather for the competition, and Thurbly says our region's apricot growers could be facing some good prospects for their crop. THURBLY: The California crop finished up a little bit early which is always a benefit to our growers up here. We've seen outstanding demand. Most importantly, we've seen outstanding product and deliveries. And considering how Northwest apricot, and stone fruit, growers, faced their own weather related worries earlier this spring with cold weather and rains, the weather has cooperated since to produce stone fruit in quality and quantity. Plum and prune tonnage is expected to be down, but fruit size is projected to be average to above average. How the rest of Washington's stone fruit crop is shaping up is the subject of our next program.