Sep 11, 2006

CIAB Recommends Final Percentages

The Cherry Industry Administrative Board (CIAB), the national marketing order for red tart cherries, convened in Traverse City, Mich., Sept. 8 to calculate and recommend the final free and restricted percentages for the current crop year. Preliminary percentages were set in June.

Each September, the board recommends to Mike Johanns, USDA secretary, the final percentage of the crop that should be considered free and that which should be restricted under the terms of the marketing order. The percentages are calculated using the industry’s actual production for the year, rather than the estimate used when determining preliminary percentages. CIAB considered such factors as supply and demand, average annual volume, carry-in and carry-out when recommending its percentages.

Free tonnage is the portion of the crop that can be marketed without reservation. CIAB recommended the final free percentage be set at 55 percent. The board recommended restricted production, the portion of the crop that must be retained in inventory or marketed in designated markets, be set at 45 percent.

A portion of the harvest, which would otherwise be considered restricted, is made available to tart cherry processors to expand market opportunities. The portion – 18 million pounds this year – can be marketed without reservation, just like the free tonnage.

The industry produced 263 million pounds of cherries this year. Twelve million pounds were from unrestricted producing areas and 251 million pounds were from restricted producing areas.