“Michigan has had some rain and supplies are growing lighter and will wrap up in the next few weeks,” says Leslie A. Simmons of Dave’s Specialty Imports, which is celebrating its 25th year in business. “Oregon and British Columbia also have lighter supplies. We are in the later varieties in all of these regions.”
Meanwhile imported blueberries from Peru are beginning to arrive in the U.S. “Peruvian blueberries from our farm, Dave's Exotic Peru, will start coming in mid-September,” says Simmons. “And right behind that we’ll have Argentinean fruit coming in mid-late September and then Chilean fruit.”
Though Simmons adds that Dave’s is really waiting to see what’s happening with Peru this season. “As a country, they could really disrupt the market if they send too much fruit at once,” says Simmons. “This over saturation always makes it challenging for the growers. The timing of the arrivals are key. If they send consistent fruit instead of flooding the market, that would help with some of the volatility we’ve seen in the past.”
Pricing on the rise?
Of course, with that lightening of the domestic supply comes some increased pricing on pint and 6oz. blueberries—this is expected to stay as such until mid-September approximately. “We always see a dip in the market around mid-late October as the South America supply really kicks in. Pricing will go down and we expect fruit to be plentiful,” Simmons says.
For more information:
Leslie A. Simmons
Dave's Specialty Imports
Tel: +1-917-703-8152
leslie@mydaves.com
www.mydaves.com