Most canneries are shut down due to the low season and will reopen in September, 2013. Some are running at minimum capacity in August.
As reported, raw material supply has been dropping every month since the beginning of the summer crop, Severe drought conditions in Thailand caused damages to plantations, making harvesting difficult due to lack of maturity of the plants.
In addition to the drought, many farmers neglected plantations due to very low raw material prices and due to the increase in labor costs over the past 18-24 months.
In any case, fruit prices are currently higher than last summer´s crop and are trending up in the winter crop, between 5-6 Baht/Kg, due to less growing area. According to forecasts, 2014 is estimated to be a short crop year.
Inquiries from Europe seems very quiet, due to many firms being on August vacation. Only some US clients are more active.
In conclusion, we think that the beginning of the new crop will be shorter than normal, with higher raw material prices during the winter crop. We expect a price war between packers, which will force prices up, reaching its climax in December-January, 2014.
Clients that want shipments from end of October on should place orders right away.
