Florida seems to be enjoying a better strawberry season this year. "For the last several seasons, our numbers have been off and our volume this year is much better–our numbers are double what we had at this point last year," says Gary Guynn of Guynn Family Produce Sales Inc. "However, it's been sustainable with sales. We had a few days where we had a little more volume than we thought but overall it's manageable.
That said, right now the state is coming into a period of tighter supply between crops. It is typical in mid to late January to hit a gap where volume slows down.
To date, the weather has been favorable for strawberry crops in Florida. "It's been in the 50s°F at night and the 70s°F during the day though this week is going to be cold–they're projecting three nights in the 30°F," says Guynn. That said, there's a fair amount of green berries with a good bit of bloom. "Typically with normal weather, the bloom is about three weeks out so that would be right in time for the Valentine's Day pull. As long as the weather doesn't stay cold, everything will be really good for Valentine's Day."
That good weather has helped quality this year and produced good sizing and flavor.
© Guynn Family Produce Sales Inc.
Trio of producing regions
As for demand, it's stronger right now. Along with Florida, Mexico and California are in production. "Mexico hasn't been as prevalent this year, probably because California's been so washed out with the weather and rain," says Guynn.
That's helped keep pricing more average in the low to mid-teens. Had the three regions been going at full charge, pricing would be in the single digits. "Most of us are on committed retail pricing and the FOB will probably go a little higher than committing pricing this week because of the cool temperatures, though that's pretty normal for this time of year," says Guynn.
Promotions have also settled in at retail. Early on last month, between December 10-20, promotions were a bit off. "I think the industry was looking at the last several seasons' numbers and not projecting the volume so we probably priced it a bit high for promotion," Guynn says, noting that that's since levelled out.
Looking ahead, demand is expected to stay steady and high. "I think Florida won't be producing as much as promoted but it's very typical for mid to late January," he says.
For more information:
Gary Guynn
Guynn Family Produce Sales Inc.
[email protected]
