Center for Economic Analysis

Pickle processing is largely a localized industry requiring proximity to areas of major process cucumber farming. Raw pickles have an extremely short shelf life and have to be processed quickly. Processing facilities may house the full spectrum of pickle processing from grading to brining to final packaging, while others only entail one or two functions on the pickle production chain. Some processers also grow pickles. In effect, no single definition defines the role of a pickle processing facility.

However, all pickles go through one of two similar processes, fermentation or refrigeration. Fermented, pickles may go through two processes. Fresh‐pack pickles are processed fresh, uncooked and packed in hot solution of vinegar and salt, along with flavoring, and fermented within their packaging. Otherwise, the raw pickles are immersed in large tank of a saltwater brine solution for a minimum of three weeks for fermentation and future packaging. Once fermented, pickles in brine are stable and can be stored for extended periods with no adverse impact on quality. Shelf‐stable pickles can be stored year‐round and do not require refrigeration. Whereas fermented pickles rely on pasteurization for preservation, refrigerated pickles are preserved with refrigeration. Refrigerated pickles are processed immediately upon picking by packing directly into containers, covered with flavorings, and immediately refrigerated.Refrigerated pickles have limited shelf lives and remain refrigerated.

Michigan may well have a comparative advantage in pickle and relish production with a favorable climate and infrastructure for pickle growing and processing. Pickles are largely grown and processed throughout the U.S. However, Michigan generates more processed cucumbers for the pickling industry than any other state, and its share of U.S. pickle production has grown steadily since 2001 (Glaser and Lewrene 2013). Between 2001 and 2011, Michigan’s annual growth in processed pickle production has averaged 3.5 percent per year compared to a 1.9 percent decline in the U.S. total based on weight (USDA: NASS 2013). In the 1990s, North Carolina held the second highest share of pickle production, but has steadily lost share to Florida (Miller 2013). Michigan processers rely more heavily on mechanical harvesting than North Carolina and much more so than in India – a significant source of North American gherkins1 consumption (USDA: Foreign Agricultural Services 2013). The method of harvesting pickles has a direct bearing on not only the economics of pickle production, but also on the marketing, where fruit size is a significant component of the final product.

While smaller fruit, or gherkins, tends to command higher prices, it also entails greater labor costs. When handpicking was common, Michigan’s processers were more willing to process smaller sizes. However, technological gains have made mechanical harvesters the primary choice for Michigan pickle growers, where current harvesters are not effective at harvesting smaller midget and gherkins sized fruit. Over time, Michigan growers abandoned manual harvesting for mechanical and the local market for midget and gherkins sized fruit dissipated. Processers also mechanized their operations with
systems tuned for mainstream fruit sizes that Michigan growers delivered. Today, non‐mainstream sizes have a market, but it is mostly considered a niche market that requires its own production system forgetting to market. In the U.S., most midget and gherkins sized pickles are imported from regions with
low labor costs.