Commodity update: Strong strawberry, blueberry crops

Overview of berries in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published on May 7, 2024.

Overall strawberry quality is optimum out of all areas, and volume will continue to increase throughout May. Good color, size and texture are arriving at the coolers daily. Blueberry quality from all areas is excellent with Mexico, Georgia and Florida holding a slight edge in size and overall quality. Peru is beginning to see a decline in numbers coming very near to the end of their season.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

STRAWBERRIES:

• Salinas /Watsonville: Production is ramping up quickly in this area due to optimum growing conditions and excellent plant health. We are seeing good opportunities for volume orders.
• Santa Maria/Oxnard: We are seeing peak numbers out of Santa Maria just in time for the Mother’s Day pull period. Oxnard also has good availability but will slowly begin to decline in numbers over the next several weeks due to the plantings beginning their natural down cycles.

BLUEBERRIES: Product is available from California, central Mexico, Baja, Peru, Georgia and Florida. Loading locations include New Jersey, California, Florida, Georgia, Los Angeles and San Diego areas.

BLACKBERRIES: Numbers should increase on the West Coast as we move into mid-May due to warming temperatures with no rain disruptions in the forecast.

RASPBERRIES: Availability remains very light for this item. Numbers are expected to improve moving into the third week of May.

The News in Charts is a collection of stories from the industry complemented by charts from Agronometrics to help better tell their story.

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