It might be time to explore other chocolate-dipped fruit for those Valentine’s Day displays because strawberries will be short this year.
Heavy rains in California halted strawberry harvests in early February, and supplies out of other growing regions also were down significantly.
According to a crop update from Markon Cooperative BB #:123315, harvests in the Oxnard, CA, region were canceled Feb. 6-8, possibly longer, as the area received more than five inches of rain earlier in the week.
California is not the primary strawberry supplier this time of year, but other regions, including Florida and Mexico are far behind usual volumes.
Agtools Inc.’s Feb. 7 weekly volume report showed an increase of 163,000 pounds from Mexico, for a total of 16.6 million pounds year-to-date, but Florida production was down 2.5 million pounds (7 million year-to-date) and California was down 2.6 million pounds (286,800 pounds year-to-date).
| YEAR | 1 LB | DESCRIPTION | |
 | 2024 | 24,143,669 | -20.29% less than 2023 |
 | 2023 | 29,042,014 | 10.25% greater than 2022 |
 | 2022 | 26,065,391 | -0.69% less than 2021 |
 | 2021 | 26,245,607 | 14.33% greater than 2020 |
Last week reported accumulated volume ( 02/05/2024 to 02/07/2024 )
Source: Agtools
Prices ranged from $16 to $20 shipping out of Oxnard for 8-pound flats. Organic strawberries crossing through Otay Mesa ranged from $28 to $32 for 8-pound flats.
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