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October 12, 2005
FRESNO, Ca. - While it appears that the 2005 dried fig crop will be larger than original estimates, rain and high humidity in the main growing region in August and September will cause a dramatic decrease in the amount and availability of package quality figs of the popular Calimyrna fig variety. Rain that lasted several hours during the morning of August 15 hit the heart of the fig production area, centered north and east of the city of Madera. The Calimyrna variety, which had reached its height of ripeness, is particularly susceptible to such adverse weather conditions. As a result, rot and mold complexes increased on the fruit, and insect infestations quickly followed. The outcome is only now being seen as dried figs are being brought into processing facilities by growers.
The California Fig Advisory Board (CFAB), a state marketing order for dried figs, still expects a larger crop than the 27,000,000 million pounds originally predicted in the spring, but initial grower deliveries from the 2005 fig crop indicate lower fruit quality across varieties. This lower quality limits how each fig can ultimately be sold.
California Fig Advisory Board Chairman Mike Emigh, Valley Fig Growers, a fig processor indicated, “The combination of disease and insect infested fruit will make it a disaster for Calimyrna variety fig growers. Fruit that would normally have been sold as whole figs at the retail level, may only grade high enough to be sold in the ingredient use market, resulting in lower returns for the Calimyrna growers.”
Not only are fig processors anticipating lower returns due to quality concerns, but growers are seeing costs escalate due to additional sorting and higher cull rates for their fruit. Grower Paul Mesple, Vice-Chairman of the California Fig Advisory Board added, “We are having to discard large quantities of these figs due to the lower quality. For the hard-to-grow Calimyrna fig variety, quality more than quantity is the determining factor in how much I get paid.”
California Fig Advisory Board Manager, Richard Matoian, who monitors such conditions for the California fig industry added, “Growers were starting to see better returns on dried figs, but the lower quality, especially with the Calimyrna variety this season, will mean that growers’ overall returns will be impacted to a greater degree.”
The state of California produces 100% of the commercially grown dried figs in the United States and 98% of the fresh figs grown in the nation.
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