Market Update For Berries

Week of February 2- February 8

With Florida experiencing another very cold weekend, strawberry supplies leading up to the Valentine’s Day holiday will certainly have questions marks. Weather looks as if it will improve this week, but nighttime lows will still be in the mid-30s. Central Mexico continues to cross good numbers, filling the void from Florida. Retail demand for fresh strawberries has been slowed by the freezing temperatures across most of the country, otherwise this spot market could be well over $20.00 by now. Baja is putting out decent numbers, but Santa Maria will be packing a high percentage of stem berries over the next 10 days, so conventional 1# clam shells will still be a little snug. Currently, there is a range in the market, with FOBs moving between $16.00 and $20.00. Most holiday ads are booked at $14.00 to $16.00, so unless production in Florida can jump by the end of the week, the spot market should hold higher than these programs.