USA Raspberry Industry:

Trends

Primary Production

Areas

2013 US Raspberry Productionmetric tonnes

Washington (frozen) 31,016 California (fresh) est. 44,000 Oregon (frozen) 2,428 All Other (fresh) 1,000USA TOTAL 78,444

metric tonnes = 2,204.6 pounds

Land in Raspberry Productionin hectares

hectare = 2.48 acres

Washington (98% frozen) 4,050 California (95% fresh) 2,100 Oregon (80% frozen) 540 All Other (99% fresh) 350

USA TOTAL 7,040

Growing RegionsProcessed Market

Whatcom County

• Whatcom County • July – Mid August• 66 mil lbs/30,000 mt

• Skagit/Snohomish• Late June – Mid August• 2.2 mil lbs/1,000 mt

• SW Washington• Mid June - August• 3.4 mil lbs/1,545 mt

• Oregon• Mid June - August• 5.0 mil lbs/2,272 mt

Skagit County

SW Washington

Oregon

Machine Harvest

The Northwest is unique…

99% of raspberries going into the processed market are

machine harvested.

Plantings are set up for machine harvest

• Majority of raspberries are planted on raised beds

• 10 foot row spacing with a side wire trellising system

• One machine picks 20-25 acres

• 2-3 day picking rotations (depending on variety)

Trends and Projections

Major Cultivars (based on 2013 plant sales in PNW)

Meeker 41%Wakefield 25% Chemainus 10%Others 17%Fresh Market

Cascade Delight 3%Tulameen 4%

Breeding Program Priority emphases• Winter hardiness• Processing canning/freezing• Root rot tolerance• Machine harvesting• Fresh market• Virus tolerance

Raspberry Breeding Goals

Flavor, Firmness, Size, Color

High yield RBDV resistant Root Rot tolerant Machine harvestable Aphid resistant Fruit rot resistant Winter hardy

Selection Evaluation

Evaluate two years after planting Evaluate all fruiting seedlings at least

once a week Select ≈ 1% of seedlings

Plant selections with cooperating grower Evaluate as harvested year 6/7 Discard 80-90% Then, test for yield, disease resistance, fruit quality and in

grower trials

Machine harvest evaluation

Plant Sale Trend by Variety

Total Raspberry Plant Sales

2012-13 PNW Raspberry Plant Sales

Meeker 1967 WSU release

Willamette remained the dominant cultivar until replaced by Meeker in late 1980s – early 1990s. Was 70% of plantings, now 42% Meeker

lighter coloredExcellent flavor More productiveLong fruiting lateralsMachine harvesters improved to accommodate longer laterals

Wakefield 2008 Plant and Food Research, Ltd, NZ

Plant and Food Research, Ltd

• Tested in NZ in 1996-98 and in Washington in 2009-10

• High yield• High percentage of

IQF fruit• Recent release, but

appears to be durable plant.

Chemainus• 2003 Agriculture and

Agri-Food Canada release

• Mid season• Excellent fruit quality• Large• Very good yield

Rudi2009 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada release • Early season• Medium size• Machine harvests

well• Good yield• For processing

Tulameen1989 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada release • Very large fruit• Excellent fresh

flavor• Long, late

season

Santa Maria May - Nov

Watsonville May – Nov

Oxnard Year Round

Main Fresh Raspberry Growing Areas

• Roughly 2,000 acres are planted for fresh market each year

• 75 fresh market growers in the state (estimate)

• Top Varieties1. Driscolls proprietary varieties2. Plant Sciences proprietary varieties3. NaturRipe proprietary varieties4. Public Varieties (very little)

California Fresh Raspberry Production

• Commercial plantings usually stay in ground for 2 – 3 years, usually achieving between 2 – 4 harvest cycles

• Average price to grower over past few years is $2.45/lb.

• 5% – 10% of fresh production ends up in processed market

California Fresh Raspberry Production

US Fresh Berry Consumption

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

7,000,000

2011 Industry 2011 CA

2011 California Volume vs. Industry Volume (lbs)

(source: USDA)

$1.15$1.65

$1.19$0.86

$1.21

$4.12

$2.16$1.71

$1.31

$4.59 $4.61 $4.39$4.74

$6.35$6.62 $6.39

$5.45 $5.35

$0.00

$1.00

$2.00

$3.00

$4.00

$5.00

$6.00

$7.00

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Frozen

Fresh

Raspberry Price to GrowersUS $/kg.

Trends and Projections

• Cost of Production• Avg. $1.25 per kg. for processed raspberries• IQF quality increases costs

• Processing Plants in PNW• 10 IQF plants – 2 new in 2011• 18 Block Frozen • 4 Juice Concentrators

Ongoing Challenges

• New cultivar development• Pest management tools

– International maximum residue limits (mrl)– Buffers for endangered species protection– Spotted wing drosophila

• New product development leading to increased demand

• Increased grower acceptance of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) – food safety, traceability

• Labor Supply

Thank you for your attention! We look forward to another productive IRO meeting!