Turning Surplus Grapes into Liquid Assets
A Kennewick factory steps in to process hundreds of tons of grapes, stabilizing market prices for local farmers.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A total of 400 tons of Yakima Valley grapes have been concentrated and delivered to the factory of the Church Manufacturing Co. at Kennewick, to be made into grape juice, and the company is in the market to contract more of this year's crop. The price paid for the grapes delivered is $20 a ton for Concords and $22 a ton for Wardens. This demand has prevented grapes from being a drug on the market this year, and has held up the price.
“This demand has prevented grapes from being a drug on the market this year.”
The struggle to avoid 'glutting' the market with perishable fruit remains a perennial challenge for Washington's agricultural industry. The Church Manufacturing Co.'s early efforts at value-added processing foreshadowed the modern success of Washington’s multi-billion dollar wine and juice industries, which still serve as a buffer for growers today.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.