The supply of bell peppers coming into the United States from Mexico has been slowed by cool, rainy weather in the states of Sinaloa and Sonora. With light supplies, prices have been strong.One handler in Arizona that imports Mexican peppers noted that he saw prices get as high as $36.00 for a carton of large green bell peppers – though prices have come down off those highs in the last couple of weeks. He pointed to the weather as the main reason why the market got so high. He expects prices to steady around $10.00 or $12.00 per carton. Current prices per carton at the Nogales crossing have been in the mid 20s for extra-large peppers and in the teens for smaller peppers.
As Easter approaches, demand from the holiday could pull prices back up, though the handler we spoke with expects the market to remain fairly steady through the holiday. After that, though, rising temperatures could further limit production and check supplies from getting too abundant. That, in turn, would further help steady the market.