A combination of poor weather conditions and rising demand for the tart red fruit from health-conscious consumers may lead to shortages by Christmas, industry and retail officials say. Canned sauce, bottled juice and dried cranberry snacks will be available, but prices are expected to rise in coming weeks and months...Thanks to new product innovations and efforts to promote the health benefits of the fruit by industry leader Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. and others, cranberries no longer are relegated to a Thanksgiving side dish. They can now be found in more than 2,000 products from muffin mix to soap....
Cranberries prefer cold winters and plenty of rain. So last year's unusually warm winter and a summer drought in many parts of the U.S. and Canada hurt the crop now being harvested. Peter Beaton, who grows cranberries in Wareham, Mass., says his overall crop is down about 30% this year from a year ago because of the weather. But he expects higher prices to help offset the shortfall, resulting in a profit decline of only 10% to 15%...
Cranberry industry officials estimate this year's smaller yield is expected to bring growers $45 to $50 for a 100-pound barrel, up from $37 last year, and more than triple the $16 a barrel about seven years ago. Farmers generally need between $18 to $24 a barrel to break even...
Chris Phillips, a spokesman for the Lakeville, Mass.-based Ocean Spray, says the 800-member farming cooperative also plans to increase its prices on its cranberry products in 2008. He called the increases "modest" and declined to elaborate. With annual sales of $1.68 billion and a 70% market share, Ocean Spray is far and away the cranberry market leader, selling its products in many parts of Europe and in Asia. "We could be selling cranberries right now in countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines, but we can't enter those markets just yet because of supply constraints," says Ocean Spray Chief Executive Randy C. Papadellis.
from the Wall Street Journal
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