Carrot volumes in California have been relatively light this year with prices lower than anticipated for current volumes.
Prices for 50 lb boxes of carrots were reported between $12 and $13. Those prices, notes Andrew Bianchi of Kern Ridge Growers, are low for the volumes growers are reporting.
“Volume is a little light,” he says, “and pricing has been lower than we'd like, though it'd be a good market if yields were better.”
He says quality has been very good, despite the low volumes – something which he suspects is due to the weather.
But even if the weather is a factor, he notes it's tough to tell exactly how much of a factor it has played in lower volumes.
“Carrots have a long growing season,” he says, “so the lighter yields could be due to weather issues that happened a while ago. It's tough to tell.”