Volumes of strawberries coming from Mexico are expected to increase at the start of next month, and berries from Florida are also expected to increase in volume during that time. California production will likely increase shortly after, making for robust volumes for the first month of 2015.“Oxnard should kick into some good volume mid-January,” said Cindy Jewell, vice president of marketing for California Giant Berry Farms. “With all three districts in production, our sales group is looking forward to having promotable volume on strawberries in January.” To date, California production for the year has trailed slightly behind that from last year, with over 151 million flats picked as of December 17 of this year. Production in the state topped 155 million flats by the same date last year.
Florida has also trailed slightly behind last year's pace, with production for that state at 1.2 million flats as of December 17. But volumes from Mexico are slightly ahead of imports from last year. While 3.9 million flats have been shipped here as of December 17, 3.7 million flats had been shipped by the same date last year.
As of December 18, 2014, the price for a flat of medium-to-large berries out of the Oxnard district was between $26.00 and $28.00. The price range for a flat at the Mexico crossing through Texas was slightly lower, with prices for a flat falling between $24.00 and $26.00. With supplies out of Central Florida still light, a flat from that region went for between $24.90 and $28.90.
For more information:
Cindy Jewell
California Giant Berry Farms
+1 831 728 1965