It is difficult to find a supply of strawberries from California due to a myriad of reasons. One among them is the recent rainfall. “In Salinas-Watsonville as well as Santa Maria, nobody can be productive unless the strawberries are cultivated under hoops,” says John Wilkinson of Blazer Wilkinson Gee, LLC. He adds that Oxnard production also has slowed little due to rainfall. The market was extremely robust prior to the California rains. Markets today are ranging from $25 to $30 for a box.

In the opposite side of the world the production from Florida is also slowed due to hurricanes Milton and Helene both of which severely impacted the production of that state. “We only started to pick at a modest rate over the last few weeks, but it’s really only barely scratching the surface. It could be in the beginning of January or the middle of February before we’ll see substantial volume,” says Wilkinson, noting that some growers have started planting as recent as November 15 which was around a month later. “The market is harvesting fruits right now from plants which were planted in time, but they’ll be moving into this huge area of land that needed to be put back in place more than expected because of the weather.”

Other elements that affect the production

In addition, consider the fact that they are some of the most short day of the year as well as are the days with the coolest conditions, making production extremely demanding. Production in the overall industry should be extremely low in every district until after the start of the year.

For there is a huge demand in the world of strawberries, fueled due to the scarcity. “The quantity is usually low during this time of the year and consumers expect the market to be able to provide strawberries 24 hours throughout the year. The needed quantity is available that is sourced from Florida as well as Mexico typically,” says Wilkinson.

In the future, what is to be determined is the majority of the Florida fruit is growing following getting damaged by the Hurricanes or not planted by the similar hurricanes. This questionable crop will keep the market for strawberries robust until mid- to the end of January.

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John Wilkinson

Kiana Amaral

Blazer Wilkinson Gee, LLC

Tel: +1 (800) 676-1577

https://bwgberries.com/