New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Ed Wengryn visited Eastern Propak in Gloucester County to highlight Jersey Fresh peaches and National Peach Month. The visit included a tour of the fruit packing facility, emphasizing the availability of Jersey Fresh peaches.
“Eastern Propak and Jersey Fruit are a great example of the cooperation between different peach growers uniting to better market their products providing Jersey Fresh peaches to consumers,” said Secretary Wengryn. “The state-of-the-art equipment here ensures this facility maintains the highest standards for quality and grading while using the latest technology that individual farms alone could not afford. The technology demonstrated today shows our producers are ready to compete in a global market not only today but into the future.”
In 2023, New Jersey ranked fourth in peach production. According to USDA data, New Jersey farmers harvested 28.4 million pounds of peaches on 3,300 acres, with a production value of $29 million.
Eastern Propak operates a 160,000-square-foot facility. An expansion in 2018 added 70,000 square feet for new lines including blueberries and high-speed peach packing. This expansion helps Eastern Propak and the Jersey Fruit Co-op meet market demands. Established in 1940, the co-op is New Jersey’s largest shipper of peaches and nectarines. In 2023, Eastern Propak packed about 15 million pounds of peaches.
“We are able to process large volumes of product in a short amount of time due to our state-of-the-art certified production facility,” said Eastern Propak CEO Robert Kearney. “The cutting edge technology we have with our equipment complements the excellent quality produce that is supplied to us by the Jersey Fruit Co-Op and others.”
New Jersey’s peach season runs through September with approximately 80 orchards producing over 100 types of peaches.
Visit findjerseyfresh.com for local availability and recipes featuring Jersey Fresh peaches.
