Following a volume-challenged start to the domestic blueberry season, volumes are picking up for blueberries in the southeast.
Florida: "Florida is winding down its production after having a limited crop," says Blair Greenhill, VP of purchasing for Nickey Gregory Company, noting that overall the blueberry crop looks to be down between 30-50 percent. "That's mainly due to Hurricane Milton and other weather they've received."
Georgia: In Georgia, last fall's Hurricane Helene also impacted its blueberry crop by stressing the blueberry bushes. "So in the front half of the crop, the yields just weren't there," says Greenhill.
Couple that with pollination issues means this state's crop is also down–growers are estimating it to be down between 30-40 percent because of these challenges in the first half of the season.
Georgia typically starts in the first or second week of April with volume about a week later. "This year we saw growers 'scratching' the week of April the 19th and 26th but really didn't hit some volume until early May so Georgia is behind where it usually is," he says.
Greenhill says demand has been very strong for blueberries and the limited supply has made it challenging to keep pace with demand which in turn has made for stronger pricing than usual.
More recently, last weekend saw six inches of rain hit throughout the state which was worrisome for growers. "However the fruit has rebounded post-rain and it's now supposed to be really hot and dry for the next couple of weeks which coincides with peak production in Georgia," says Greenhill, adding that the rest of the blueberry crop will likely see more traditional volume.
In turn, this means Memorial Day ads for blueberries should be able to be fulfilled. After that, Georgia will taper off its heavier volume part of the season quickly, possibly by mid to late June though it is weather dependent.
North Carolina: This state will begin to scratch its blueberry crop next week. "It's supposed to be an above-average to excellent crop and they typically go through about the 4th of July," says Greenhill.
In terms of other blueberry growing regions, Mexico is on the tail end of its production so volume is limited as it is past its peak. Southern California is past its blueberry production peak as well, though more product is coming on as production moves up the coast.
Meanwhile, demand has been very strong for blueberries and the limited supply has made it challenging to keep pace with demand. This has in turn made for stronger pricing than usual at this time of the year. "Typically by now, Georgia has flooded the market and pricing has crashed. It hasn't done that this year. It's kind of stair-stepping down every week as we see better volume," says Greenhill. "We do expect it to come off pretty hard by Memorial Day weekend."
As for the rest of the country's start dates to their blueberry growing seasons, they are right in place with New Jersey beginning around June 15; Michigan the first week of July; and the Pacific Northwest, which includes British Columbia, Canada, around the end of June to the start of July. Peru is then expected to begin with imports in mid-August.
For more information:
Blair Greenhill
Nickey Gregory Company
Tel: +1 (404) 366-7410
https://nickeygregory.com/