Fresh produce in Georgia is big business.
The state is a national leader in blueberries, melons, onions, and peaches with overall fruit and vegetable production bringing in more than a billion dollars each year.
The stakes are high, the margins are tight, and ever-present competition make it imperative to stay on top of the many rapid-fire changes in the business of perishables. Here are how Georgians are doing just that by growing smart, tracking trends, and trying to expect the unexpected.
Matthew Kolinski, deputy director for marketing for the Georgia Department of Agriculture, likes to say that “Georgia is nature’s favorite state.”
In addition to its warm and humid temperatures, rich soils, and two growing seasons, Georgia also has short mild winters, which provide the chill hours necessary for several vital fruit crops.
Overall, watermelon is big, with increasing requests for yellow-flesh varieties. But Kolinski says the smaller, seedless, “personal” varieties are showing major growth.
Growth is also occurring in cauliflower, with green and purple varieties in vogue nationwide, as well as climbing demand for broccoli.
Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, says the state “has developed a pretty good broccoli industry in the last three or four years.”
This is an excerpt from the most recent Produce Blueprints quarterly journal. Click here to read the full article.
