Supplies of raspberries continue to be very short. “They’re out of Mexico right now and the heat there has burnt up much of the crops so it’s a matter of trying to get enough of them,” says Ricky Armata of C&J Brothers, noting that this has been the supply situation for a few months now.
Given the heat stress, that means it’s key to keep a close eye on the fruit that is being shipped. “Usually when you see high markets like this, the envelope can be pushed on quality and when I go to resell it, my customers are paying a lot of money. So they’re being very tough on quality,” he says, noting at the same time, that high pricing makes it an attractive market for growers to enter.
However, the high pricing on raspberries right now is also causing demand to be a bit off. “You’re getting to price points where most people are going to have to retail them for $6.99-$7.99 and that really reduces demand. So while there’s not a huge demand for the product, there’s also not a ton of product to be had,” Armata says.
Growing regions
For now, product will continue to come out of Mexico though within the month it should transition up to California fruit. From there production will continue to move north through the Pacific Northwest regions including British Columbia, Canada.
However, there are challenges with Pacific Northwest fruit and transportation. “You have to watch the ripeness in the berries coming out of the Pacific Northwest. They have really good varieties in that area that are bigger but they’re also a little ripe. So when they get sent 3,000 miles to New York, you could have mushy berries on your hand,” he says, noting that the PNW fruit is distributed more locally on the West Coast.
So looking ahead, the raspberry market will be more of the same for the next few weeks. “That is low quantities coming out of all the different growing areas and high prices,” says Armata.
For more information:
Ricky Armata
C&J Brothers
Tel: +1 (718) 991-5050
[email protected]
https://www.candjbrothers.com/