“Supply has been excellent on blackberries. Other berries like strawberries and raspberries have been very tight. Blackberries have been plentiful and we’ve been selling high volume on them,” says Dominic Russo of Rocky Produce based in Detroit, Mi. He notes that most of the berries are coming in right now are from Mexico, which has a strong blackberry program. “But we’re in a transition now where there’ll be an overlap of Mexican product and California new crop coming on,” he adds.
Increasing interest in commodity
Like raspberries and blueberries, blackberries seem to be a growing commodity. “More so than strawberries,” says Russo. “They’re also growing better blackberries today versus in past years. The blackberries nowadays are more sweet than sour. Several years ago, some of the varieties were very sour and you couldn’t eat them. Now they’ve got it down pretty well as the right variety to grow.”
Demand continues to be strong for berries and Russo anticipates that demand will continue as the weather warms up in the northeast. “Our weather has been long and cold, we need a break to get people moving around and stimulated again and then retail sales will go up for sure,” he says, adding that prices for blackberries have been reasonable to average. “If weather warms up here in April, we’re going to be very busy. If it doesn’t, it’ll be a push. When it comes to May, it doesn’t matter what kind of weather it is, we’ll be busy.”
For more information:
Dominic Russo
Rocky Produce
Tel: +1 (313) 841-7780
drusso@rockyproduce.com
www.rockyproduce.com