NASHVILLE, TN – California remains the nation’s top peach-producing state, and USDA’s May Crop Production forecast shows a 4 percent increase in total peach output for 2025. Production is expected to hit 550,000 tons—11 percent above the previous three-year average.
Freestone varieties continue to lead production, with 320,000 tons forecasted, compared to 230,000 tons of clingstones. If realized, it would mark the sixth consecutive year that freestones have outpaced clingstone peaches.
Clingstones, primarily used for processed products like canned and frozen peaches, have seen bearing acreage shrink from a 2004 peak of 32,000 acres to under 14,000 in 2024. Freestone acreage, mainly for the fresh market, has ticked upward slightly since 2017.
As of mid-July, deliveries to processors were up 36 percent from the same time last year, totaling 13,600 tons—about 6 percent of the season’s expected volume. The California Canning Peach Association was still finalizing a base-price agreement with one of the industry’s major processors.
Meanwhile, U.S. canned peach imports have risen steadily over the past two decades. Imports now represent over 30 percent of domestic supply, up from less than 10 percent in the 1990s. More than 80 percent of those imports come from China and Greece.
Fresh-market peach harvest is underway in California and winding down in South Carolina and Georgia. Despite early-season shipment lags, prices are in line with last year. South Carolina’s crop is facing disease pressure due to humid weather, while Georgia’s peaches are in mostly good-to-excellent condition.