Frost in Argentina affected blueberry production, so imports of Argentine berries have been light in the United States. That's made for erratic pricing, but, with volumes from Argentina increasing, the market looks to stabilize in the coming weeks.
“Chilling temperatures and rain in Argentina have limited supplies of blueberries by up to 60 percent” said Mike DeLeo of Dandrea Produce in New Jersey. “There was a cold snap that hurt the berries, hurt the bloom and hurt production. Then there was rain that came after the chill, and you can't harvest berries until the rain clears up.” Supplies of berries coming from Argentina are now increasing on both U.S. coasts, but the effects of a shortage can linger in the market for some time.
“You put out pricing for berries in supermarket ads four to six weeks ahead of time, so you have to anticipate ahead,” said DeLeo. “You could get pricing on an ad that's lower and prices on the spot market that are higher.” For the spot market, prices remain high. On October 26, prices for a flat of medium and large blueberries from Argentina were between $32.00 and $40.00 at the Los Angeles port of entry and the Miami port of entry.
“In the last 20 years we've been importing blueberries, I can't remember a season start this disruptively,” said DeLeo. “The Argentina season can go all the way to Thanksgiving. For the last six weeks, I thought supplies and the market were going to change soon, but there are no guarantees.”
