The Valentine’s Day pull for strawberries this year was a little easier thanks to solid, and increasing, supplies of strawberries.
“Most of the time it’s too early and the weather wreaks havoc on Valentine’s Day pull. But this time it’s been very, very easy,” says Steve Johnston of G.W. Palmer & Co. Inc. in Salinas, CA.
Strawberry supplies seem to be coming on particularly stronger and earlier on the West Coast. “They’re peaking in production in Central Mexico. Baja and Oxnard, CA. Santa Maria, CA is also getting going on supplies,” says Johnston. He notes that normally the Santa Maria crop begins in late March or April but there are already good supplies that will really begin to come on once the Valentine’s Day pull is over. “And they’re beautiful berries too. The quality of strawberries is always indicative of the weather so if you have spectacular weather, you’re going to have an awfully good berry,” says Johnston, noting that California acreage is up slightly by about 2,000 acres though no significant change in volume is expected.
East Coast berries
On the East Coast, Johnston notes that Florida has had some growing issues over the past few weeks. “It’s nothing out of the ordinary for them though,” he says. “It’s been cold and they’ve had to run some sprinklers. And they’ve had some hot weather after that. And they’ll be getting into their peak in the next couple of weeks.”
Meanwhile, pricing on strawberries is similar to last year at this time and spurred on by continued good demand for the popular fruit. “Over the last two years in the pandemic, if you go into the grocery stores, strawberries are always center stage in the produce aisle,” says Johnston. “They have to be the most popular item in the store.”
Looking ahead, Johnston notes that promotions will likely be needed next month for strawberries. “We could have an abundance of good strawberries out here earlier than normal. I would think the shippers had better be very aggressive to promote the berries because we’ve had such a sustained lengthy dry period with really spectacular weather.”
With that, he also anticipates pricing to come down with volumes going up. “Florida will probably be promoting $12 and California will be $12-$14. They’re going to have to make some deals because all systems are go out here for a bumper crop,” he says.
For more information:
Steve Johnston
G.W. Palmer & Co., Inc.
Tel: +1 (831) 753-6578
sjohnston@gwpalmer.net
http://www.gwpalmer.net/