DRIED FRUIT.(imports)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

 
***USDA OFFERS TO BUY*** 
DRIED FRUITS 
 
*Deliveries between Dec. 15, 2001 - Jun. 30, 2002* 
 
                           U.S. Grade    Cases 
 
Cranberries (16/30 oz.)        B          71,424 
Cranberries (5/#5)             B          66,528 
Raisins (144/1.33 oz.)         B         400,140 
Raisins (30#)                  B          94,530 
Raisins (25/15 oz.)            B         603,073 

PRUNES - Prune growers face economic woes as their harvest reaches the midway point, reported the California Farm Bureau Federation. Prices remain low because of a large supply left from last year. Some packers still have not signed contracts with farmers to buy the fruit. Higher natural-gas prices have hurt farmers who operate prune dehydrators, especially if they signed gas contracts earlier in the year when prices were especially high.

RAISINS - The volume of imports of Seedless Raisins through July 1 was down 27% when compared to 2000. Shipments from Chile, which accounted for 60% of the total volume, were down 35% to 4.4 million pounds. Shipments from Mexico, typically the largest importer to the U.S., totaled 3.2 million pounds, up 24%. The c.i.f. value of Raisins from Mexico during June averaged 44 cents per pound, according to The Food Institute's analysis of the Bureau of Census Data.

U.S. imports of Sultanas for the first half of the year totaled 122,720 pounds, a decrease of 92% when compared to the same period of time in 2000.

 
U.S. IMPORTS OF DRIED FRUITS 
JAN. 1 - JULY 1, 2001 
 
(Source: Bureau of Census) 
 
In Pounds 
                       2001          2000       % Chge. 
 
Apples               2,569,250     2,283,621      12.5% 
  Chile              1,467,401     1,130,301      29.8% 
  China                760,302       465,925      63.2% 
Apricots            17,158,746    11,931,495      43.8% 
  Turkey            16,694,693    11,399,080      46.5% 
Bananas              1,743,142     1,527,365      14.1% 
  Philippines        1,191,129     1,094,536       8.8% 
  Ecuador      ...