“Supplies of cabbage are good. Right now basically everything we can cut is going towards all those retailers who have everything booked for the St. Patrick’s holiday,” says Calvert Cullen of Va.-based Northampton Growers Produce Sales Inc., who notes most of its regular and red cabbage sizing falls into the 16-18 size range.
Supplies though are up for cabbage by an estimated 25 per cent. “Supplies are better than last year because last year we had some weather damage,” says Cullen. “We had several storms last year that had come through and a lot of water that damaged the crops. But this year everything’s good.”
As far as competing product goes, Cullen notes competition comes from Texas while not much is from the West Coast’s California region.
Price push
Meanwhile pricing is higher on the vegetable. “Markets are up from last year—over last year, they’re probably up by 10 per cent,” notes Cullen.
Looking ahead, Cullen notes things will quiet down after St. Patrick’s. “Things will ease off for cabbage but we plant accordingly,” he says. “We don’t have as much cabbage planted to come off right after the holiday because we know it’s going to drop. The next big pull for cabbage is probably not until spring.”
For more information:
Calvert Cullen
Northampton Growers
Tel: +1 (561) 364-8260
calvert@northamptongrowers.com
www.northamptongrowers.com