US: Volume to lighten for now on blackberries

As the market starts transitioning towards supplying blackberries domestically, anticipation is that volume will be good for summer blackberries.

“Supply out of Mexico has been very steady. The season is starting to wind down and we’re seeing it lightening up a little bit,” says Vince Ferrante with Dave’s Specialty Imports in Miami, Fl. “The west is starting to pick up and as North Carolina starts in the upcoming weeks, we’ll see the overall volume increase,” he says.

Over at Crystal Valley Foods also in Miami, Katiana Valdes says the company is sourcing berries additionally from Guatemala as well as California.

Photo: Crystal Valley Foods

More in Mexico

Altogether though, volume of the berries has been up this year, particularly in Mexico. “And right now, the volume is increasing and spreading out where it’s coming from,” adds Dave’s Ferrante. “Throughout the summer, I think barring any kind of issues with quality or weather, I see steady volumes into early fall from the U.S.”

Handling volumes of blackberries also brings about a concern though. “Labor continues to be a challenge for harvesting. Blackberries require a lot of hand labor and many companies that have relied on domestic labor have to bring in H-2A (temporary agricultural) workers, which adds a tremendous amount of cost,” says Ferrante. “Those farmers not using H02A workers could have challenges with keeping up with the harvest.”

Photo: Crystal Valley Foods

Pricing pick up

At the same time, demand has been solid for the berries but the pricing average. “We’d like to see pricing a little higher but with the amount of fruit that’s been available, it’s probably priced correctly at this point,” he says. “Going into the summertime there are a lot of promotions and that helps move volume. We also had a longer colder wintertime and that held things up in the marketplace, especially in the midwest and northeast.”

Pricing though is stronger right now compared to the average pricing on the rest of the year, says Valdes of Crystal Valley. “There was a lot of weather that affected quality coming out of Mexico about halfway through the season. And then volume and quality improved significantly and it dropped price very very low to some of the lowest pricing in a long time. We’re seeing that turn. As volume is tightening up, we’re seeing pricing in that $10-$12 range on 6 oz. blackberries,” adds Ferrante of Dave’s, who also notes that the pricing has been comparable to last year’s pricing.

Looking ahead, pricing is anticipated to be solid throughout the summer. “If promotions are good throughout the summer, we’ll see decent pricing. However if we get significant weather in the southeast, that could affect pricing,” says Ferrante.

Variety development

Meanwhile, Dave’s is looking into developing proprietary varieties of blackberries to meet more needs of clients. “That’s what we’re focusing on in the next couple of years. People want a sweeter blackberry with a longer shelf life as well as yields on the farm level. So even if it’s large and has great taste, does it have significant yield?” he says. “High yield, great taste, shipability and shelf life--those are what’s important in the marketplace.”

For more information:
Vince Ferrante
Dave’s Specialty Imports
Tel: +1 (305) 603-7988
vferrante@mydaves.com
www.mydaves.com

Katiana Valdes
Crystal Valley Foods
Tel: +1 (786) 565-4575
katiana@crystalvalleyfoods.com
www.crystalvalleyfoods.com