Following a slow start to the Florida strawberry season with a shorter supply, production is about to increase. “It has been cool and cloudy here which has affected the yield. We didn’t get as many berries as we should have but it’s warming now and it has been increasing,” says Justin Ennis of Ennis Farms Inc., adding that the Plant City, Florida growing region has also seen some light but manageable rain.
The Florida strawberry season started in late November and goes until March. “The last few years have been going on longer than normal but it’s hard to say how this year is going to go,” says Ennis.
Pricing could soften
As for demand, it’s been good but uneven. “There was high demand and then it kind of dropped and came back up again,” he says. That said, pricing has been good as it has been much of the season though pricing did drop more than a week ago but then strengthened again ahead of Valentine’s Day.
Looking ahead at the Florida season, production coming on more heavily now will likely impact pricing. “The numbers are about to increase quite a bit and when that happens, pricing will drop which should happen this week. There will generally be a lot more berries down the road now,” he says.