United Fresh launches annual compensation survey
The United Fresh Produce Association has launched its 2021 Compensation Survey for the fresh produce industry. The data collected will be published in a research report that will assist produce industry employers in understanding compensation benchmarks.
“In these precarious times, it’s crucial to have reliable data and benchmarks to inform our decisions,” said United Fresh’s finance and business management council chairman Mike McGee, L&M Companies. “Broad industry participation in this year’s survey will lead to a robust report and provide industry employers with reliable metrics to ensure they are offering competitive compensation.”
Lower apple volumes in the US make for strong domestic market
While the overall apple volumes out of Washington are down this year, the sector is facing a good market. John Long of L&M Companies shares: “Last year the Washington State apple crop was about 135 million boxes compared to this year with about 118 boxes. We expected to have lower volumes this year because of the weather and because some varieties are on an alternate, smaller-bearing year this year. The overall volumes did turn about to be lower than we estimated, about 8-10% lower, because of some storms we saw around Labor Day.”