East Coast storm tightens fresh produce supplies

The storm that hit the East Coast has dumped a lot of rain on states, particularly the Carolinas. Some areas got as much rain in 24 hours as they normally would in eight months with a number of South Carolina towns reporting between 21 and 25 inches of rain. There are reports of flooded fields, and the rain has disrupted fresh produce production, which, in turn, has tightened supplies and raised prices.

“We got a lot of rain for 11 days straight, so there has been some flooding on our crops,” said Esmeralda Sandoval of Del Valle Fresh in Woodruff, South Carolina. “We checked on our tomato fields, and there has been some rotting due to the water staying in the fields.” The setbacks brought on by adverse weather have limited the volumes Sandoval hoped to get this season.

“There's greater demand than there are supplies,” said Sandoval. “We're not going to be able to complete all of our orders, and the market is staying steady with that high demand.” In North Carolina, supplies of crops including beans, cucumbers, eggplant, squash, peppers and tomatoes were curtailed due to the rain and wet fields.

For more information:

Esmeralda Sandoval