MADISON (Commodity Online) : Wisconsin is likely to retain its number one spot in the US in cranberry production for the fifteenth straight year.
According to U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Wisconsin will yield 4.0 million barrels of cranberries. That would be below last year’s record harvest, but will still put the state at the top of the list.
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A collection of producers, the Wisconsin Cranberry Cooperative, contributed to this year’s harvest, and had a new, state-of-the-art receiving station to work through near Warrens.
Cranberries processed through the station via the co-op are marketed directly to customers around the world.
Some of the markets for the berries are as far away as Japan. Ocean Spray and other large cranberry producers buy berries from the co-op and also processed some of their berries at the Copper Road station.
The new station allows the segregation of berries by individual producers when the fruit first comes to the loading area. The berries are then kept in a batch during the washing, drying and packaging processes.
Wisconsin cranberry producers provide nearly 60 percent of the nation’s supply of cranberries. They comprise the state’s largest fruit industry, contributing $350 million annually to the state’s economy and supporting, 7,200 jobs, according to the WSCA.
In recent years, the industry has lobbied the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other state and federal agencies to allow more marshes to be opened for growing of cranberries. The review process for such expansion is at various stages of approval, depending on the agency.
Industry spokesmen cite a growing market in Europe and Asia, where the fruit is not readily grown. In September, 18 representatives from 12 countries toured Wisconsin marshes at the start of the harvest season to learn more about the industry.
The tour was timed right after reports from the U.S. Cranberry Marketing Committee that exports increased by more than 18 percent in the last year. About 45 million pounds of berries were exported last year, and more than half of that supply came from Wisconsin.
Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington as well as Canada and Chile grow and export cranberries. Germany, France, Australia and Mexico are big markets for berries.
