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USDA plans to buy $25M in Concord grape juice

The Columbian
Published: September 14, 2014, 5:00pm

KENNEWICK — Yakima Valley Concord juice grape growers are expecting their largest yields in more than two decades.

That crop may become easier to sell with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recent announcement that it will buy $25 million worth of Concord grape juice.

It’s the second time this year that the USDA has decided to buy excess Concord grape juice for domestic nutrition programs. What that will mean for prices is uncertain because the USDA uses a competitive bidding process to buy grape juice.

Washington growers are expected to harvest about 215,000 tons of Concord and Niagara juice grapes this year, according to the USDA. That is up 19 percent from last year, when farmers harvested about 180,000 tons. Niagara grapes make up about 8 percent of the state’s juice grapes.

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