In New York, cabbage growers there are shifting to starting to pack storage cabbage for year-round supply. “Typically New York slows down on the retail items at this time of year because the focus shifts to storage cabbage. These next four to five weeks, we’ll be putting product away to keep those accounts all winter--it’s an important time for us,” says Eric Hansen of Hansen Farms LLC., who notes that its storage crop will go from around Thanksgiving to July.
This comes following a month of very good retail demand on its 50 lb. cartons of cabbage. “Demand’s good because of supply--if you get two or three areas that just have gaps or some rain damage, it affects things,” he says, noting demand on bulk cabbage isn’t as strong. “However going back 10-15 years, there were more easily predictable times of volatility in the market. Over the last three to five years though, that’s no longer the case. Demand is more random.”
Higher carton vs. bulk pricing
As for pricing, carton pricing is very good at about $15/medium carton. On bulk, pricing is around .12 cents/lb.
“I don’t see pricing going up significantly from here but I do think it will hold steady,” says Hansen. “The transition to the South to the Carolinas, it seems to be fairly smooth so I don’t think the market will drop off a lot.”
For more information:
Eric Hansen
Hansen Farms
Tel: +1 585-526-5260
[email protected]
http://hansenfarms.com