California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

California raisin growers are about to experience one of their most profitable seasons.

The price for this year's crop is expected to be $1,500 a ton, the highest amount in
more than 20 years. Adding to the good news for growers is the expectation that the
entire crop will be available for sale, whereby in past years, 15% was held back to
pay for export marketing.

Growers have struggled through an oversupply and stagnant prices. Thousands of acres
of vineyards have been pulled over the past 10 years specifically in the central San
Joaquin Valley -- the center of the raisin industry -- and many growers got out of
the business.

But the industry has not shriveled up. Growers trimmed production and worked at
increasing sales domestically and overseas. The approach worked. About 45% of the
crop is now exported to 56 countries, with top raisin importers including the
European Union, Japan and Canada.

While growers and industry officials hope that recent rain won't significantly reduce
this year's crop, other factors have aligned to benefit raisin growers this year. The
overall size of the California crop is forecast at a manageable 293,000 tons, down
significantly from a nearly 400,000-ton crop in 2002. Worldwide production also is down,
driving raisin prices up in the past several months creating a supply and demand
equation that is in balance.

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.