The supply of raspberries out of Mexico is starting to change. "The supply has been short for the past few months. Only last week did we start to see a bit more volume coming in with some other regions activating," says Gerardo López of Produce Lovers.
While winter tends to often be a lower production season for raspberries anyway, this year there have been delays and lower production in raspberries but also blueberries and blackberries. "It's mainly due to weather," he says. "However hot temperatures last summer are also part of it. Also, even though we don't get the harsh cold weather in Mexico, at night and in the morning it can go below 10 degrees Celsius, which also delays production." Cloudy skies in December also add to the tight supply.
Better volume ahead
That said, production is likely to catch up and López estimates good supply levels will be reached by mid-March and go through the end of May. For Produce Lovers, it has more farms undergoing production this season and that expansion means it will have a greater supply.
Meanwhile demand for raspberries is still high. "I think demand on all berries is high because there are fewer blackberries and blueberries and that usually pushes demand on all berries," he says. Even with greater production coming on and pricing going down, demand should stay healthy.
As for those prices, they are similar to this time last year. "Those will be a little lower in the coming weeks than February's prices. However, I don't see a sharp change on pricing coming," López says.
For more information:
Gerardo López
Produce Lovers
Tel: +1 (305) 407 3891
[email protected]
https://www.producelovers.com/