Strong demand for the start of 2016 has propped up prices for cabbage coming from Texas. Shippers are hoping that trend continues into the run-up to Saint Patrick's Day in March.“The Texas cabbage season started a little slower than normal because Mexico was coming in heavy,” said Tonya Hill of Frontera Produce in Edinburg, Texas. “However, we've seen a phenomenal pull for New Year's.” That surge in demand has boosted prices up to and over $10.00 per carton. On January 7, prices for a 50-pound carton of green cabbage from the Lower Rio Grande Valley were between $8.40 and $10.00, and prices for a carton of red cabbage were between $12.00 and $13.00.
There's competition from Mexican imports and California cabbage west of the Mississippi, but Hill explained that retailers like Texas cabbage because it's more dense than product from other regions. She hopes consumers will continue to buy through the first few weeks of the year and that that consumption carries over into March, when sales take off in preparation for Saint Patrick's Day.
“There may be a lull in February,” said Hill, “but the way things have been shaping up, I think we have another two weeks of really good prices.”
For more information:
Tonya Hill
Frontera Produce
+1 956 381 5701
