Raspberry demand benefits from shorter category supplies

Overview of raspberries from Mexico in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published on November 17, 2023.

Raspberry supply has been steady for the last few weeks and is about to pick up. “At North Bay, we’re expecting our supply to increase over the next two to three weeks. We’re looking at promotional type volume from now through the month of December,” says Sarah Quackenbush of North Bay Produce.

Right now, raspberry supplies are coming from Mexico. “Supply is pretty typical for this time of year,” says Quackenbush. “The difference is with the other berries right now and how they look compared to last year and how that affects raspberry supply and demand.” That includes things like El Nino, hurricanes and other weather events affecting blackberry, blueberry and strawberry production in Mexico, Peru and California.

The popularity of raspberries

That said, demand is strong for the popular fruit and it has stayed consistent throughout the Mexican season which started in October. “Part of that is that everybody loves raspberries but it’s also the struggle with the other berries that has indirectly increased raspberry demand,” adds Quackenbush. Even though that’s starting to change with strawberry, blackberry and blueberry supplies growing in volume from a few different growing regions, she anticipates raspberry demand to stay strong.

As for pricing, it’s similar to last year year–possibly even slightly stronger.

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

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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