“Supply of blackberries is very good and plentiful,” says Martin Maldonado of Pompano Beach, Fl.-based Pure Fresh LLC. “There’s good quality too. Approximately 95 percent of the supply is coming from Mexico right now but Guatemala always has a presence importing through Miami.” That said, supplies are down slightly— Maldonado notes there was possibly 5-8 percent higher more supply last year but he sees that as nothing of consequence.
Competition meanwhile is coming in from Guatemala. “But it’s very minimal right now, mostly covering parts of Southeast,” he says. “Most Guatemalan volume is being sent to Europe and the Middle East.”
Hoping for price increase
Maldonado says that at the end of 2017, the prices on blackberries dropped—as did demand—and the price is turning. “We are seeing a little surge in price and possibly that will hold until Valentine’s Day,” he adds. “I expect them to go up $1 or $2 every week until the Valentine's pull ends, first week of February.”
Blueberry competition
What is proving challenging, adds Maldonado, is fighting its fellow berries for attention. “For demand, retail is always looking for ads, but again, most of the attention goes to blueberries,” he says. “I hope consumers start realizing the blackberries are as much a super fruit as blueberries, if not more. We need to stop thinking of the blackberry like the ‘ugly brother’ of the berries.”
For more information:
Martin Maldonado
Pure Fresh LLC
Tel: +1-305-477-2047
martin@purefresh.us.com
purefresh.us.com
Maldonado says that at the end of 2017, the prices on blackberries dropped—as did demand—and the price is turning. “We are seeing a little surge in price and possibly that will hold until Valentine’s Day,” he adds. “I expect them to go up $1 or $2 every week until the Valentine's pull ends, first week of February.”
Blueberry competition
What is proving challenging, adds Maldonado, is fighting its fellow berries for attention. “For demand, retail is always looking for ads, but again, most of the attention goes to blueberries,” he says. “I hope consumers start realizing the blackberries are as much a super fruit as blueberries, if not more. We need to stop thinking of the blackberry like the ‘ugly brother’ of the berries.”
For more information:
Martin Maldonado
Pure Fresh LLC
Tel: +1-305-477-2047
martin@purefresh.us.com
purefresh.us.com