Supplies of blackberries from Mexico are tight right now.
“We’re dealing with a bit of a blackberry shortage. There was a big heatwave about three to four weeks ago at the very beginning of March and that heat really affected the plants,” says Stefanie Katzman, executive vice-president, S. Katzman Produce based in Bronx, NY. “It has produced a lot of red cell blackberries, a lot of poor quality so they had to strip the plants and drop a lot of fruit in the fields. Normally we’d see good quality, flavor and volume come out of Central Mexico right now. It’s been a rough March with blackberries.”
Mexico is also the only region currently with blackberry production. Domestically, Georgia will start its production at the end of April or early May while California will also start about a month after that.
Stefanie Katzman, executive vice-president of S. Katzman Produce.
Remainder of Mexican season
Katzman does add that more will be known in the next two to three weeks. “We’ll know if the plants are able to recover from the heat and get production going again,” she says. “But I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mexico struggle a bit and really not see any volume come back until the very end of April or the beginning of May, when production starts up in Georgia and California a month after that.”
At the same time, demand for blackberries is good, reflecting the fact that demand has grown in the past couple of years. “I attribute it to more volume--there’s more availability out there for consumers and they’ve done a lot with blackberries flavor-wise,” she says, noting there’s more organic availability and companies such as Driscoll’s have programs such as the Sweetest Batch in place. “You have a lot more experience now where you get that sweet, juicy berry as opposed to in the past with those tart or hit and miss varieties.” And in the meantime, buyers and consumers often turn to other berries such as raspberries or blueberries if there is a shortage such as this or if quality is an issue.
In turn, pricing is higher compared to last year at this time, largely due to the shortage of supply. “When supply is down, especially for weather-induced quality reasons, you usually get that spike in price. And when there’s lots of volume, that’s usually when you get your best flavor and eating experiences because that product was grown in ideal growing conditions,” adds Katzman.
For more information:
Brittany Pearson
S. Katzman Produce
Tel: +1 (718) 991-4700 ext. 332
bpearson@katzmanproduce.com
https://www.katzmanproduce.com/