There is very little supply of strawberries out of California for a variety of reasons, and one of them is the recent rains. "In Salinas-Watsonville and Santa Maria, nobody can work unless those berries are grown under hoops," says John Wilkinson of Blazer Wilkinson Gee, LLC., adding that Oxnard production has also slowed slightly due to rain. The market was very robust even before the California rains, and markets now are sitting between $25-$30 a box.
On the other side of the country, production out of Florida is also slow due to Hurricanes Milton and Helene, which seriously impacted production in that state. "We just started picking in a small way last week but we're really just scratching the surface. Realistically, it could be the middle of January or early February before we see any serious volume," says Wilkinson, adding that some growers planted as recently as November 15, which is about a month late. "The industry is picking berries right now on plants that were set on time but then they'll move into this large amount of acreage that had to be replanted later than normal due to the storms."
Other factors affecting production
Add to that the fact that these are the shortest days of the year and the days with the coolest weather which makes production very challenging. Overall industry production should be very light out of all districts until well after the first of the year.
As for demand, it is excellent on strawberries, spurred on by the shortage. "The volume is always short at this time of year and customers expect the industry to have strawberries 365 days a year. We have that needed volume out of Florida and Mexico normally," says Wilkinson.
Looking ahead, what remains to be seen is how up to 50 percent of the Florida crop is developing after being either damaged during the Hurricanes or planted late due to those same storms. That questionable production should keep the strawberry market strong until the middle to late part of January.
For more information:
John Wilkinson
Kiana Amaral
Blazer Wilkinson Gee, LLC
Tel: +1 (800) 676-1577
https://bwgberries.com/