The Mexican strawberry season is currently hitting peak production, and the volumes are slightly higher than they were last year. Naturipe Farms works with both Mexican and Californian production for their strawberries, and the complementary windows of these seasons allow them supply the US year-round.
Jerry Moran, Senior Director of Strawberry Sales for Naturipe Farms, says: “California produces strawberries year-round, but the highest volumes are from April through October. Then from November through March the Mexican season supplies the bulk of the strawberries. Since California does continue to produce lower volumes throughout these months as well, we have some crossover between the seasons, which is beneficial because it helps ensure a steady supply even if there are weather issues which might disrupt production in certain regions.”
Mexican peak 2 weeks later than usual
The Mexican season is now hitting its peak, and this is a little later than it usually is. “The peak is about 2 weeks later than normal. This is mostly due to some cooler weather and because the planting was a little later than usual at the beginning of the season. This pushed back the peak by a couple of weeks. But this also means that the season will last a little longer, likely into the middle of March, so the overall volumes won’t be affected,” Moran shares.
Mexico wasn’t the only strawberry growing region hitting its peak later than usual. “Florida was having some issues with their strawberry production this season. This, in combination with the slight delay in Mexico, resulted in a little extra demand in the market in January and February. But the demand dropped back down after the usual Valentines Day high. Right now, both Mexico and Florida are in their peak production and the markets are coming down and recovering. We expect that we will soon see a nice equilibrium between the supply and the demand,” Moran says.
Good supplies expected in coming months
In the next couple of months, strawberry supplies will transition over to Californian production. While the Mexican season was a little later this year, California actually seems to be ahead of schedule. “We have had a mild winter in California this year, especially in terms of rainfall. The temperatures have been close to normal, and it’s warming up now. The forecast shows very little rainfall in the coming ten days, so we are expecting an increase in supplies over these days and we’ll be running ahead of schedule a bit.”
“We are expecting some really good supplies between the end of the Mexican season and the beginning of the Californian season. The California volumes should really start taking off in mid-March and will be hitting their peak volumes in April-May. We’ve been seeing some really good quality coming about of central Mexico this season and will be supplying good promotable volumes of strawberries with great sizing and flavor very soon in the spring,” Moran concludes.
For more information:
Naturipe
Tel: +1 (239) 591-1664
Email: info@naturipefarms.com
www.naturipefarms.com