U.S. cherry retail prices declining

Despite the late start to this year's U.S. sweet cherry season, retailers will find plenty of promotional volumes for good quality cherries this summer, likely driving U.S. consumer prices for cherries down from a year ago during the latter half of the season. Retail advertised prices for U.S. cherries at the beginning of this season in May averaged $3.91 per pound, 5 percent below the May 2010 average price. While weekly average prices were higher than a year ago throughout most of May, sharply lower prices during the first week of the month drove the monthly average down. Heavy volume buildup from mid-July through mid-August is expected to put downward pressure on prices. This chart is from ERS' Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook, FTS-348, published July 29, 2011.

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