Florida's strawberry prices usually start off high, with growers receiving wholesale prices in the mid-$20-per-flat range at the start of the harvest season in late November and early December. By January, wholesale prices generally fall to around $15 per flat, as Florida strawberry plants produce a bigger second crop and supplies come in from other producers, notably Mexican growers.
However, this year retail prices stayed high because of record high wholesale prices during the middle of the month, said Kenneth Parker, executive director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association in Plant City. The prices remained high because Florida strawberry plants simply weren’t producing enough.
Light supply meant wholesale Florida strawberry prices out of Orlando remained mostly between $20.90 and $22.90 per flat in the middle of January, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. By Feb. 1, most sold in the $22 to $26.90 range, as demand exceeded supply.
“Historically, those prices were well above average, but we didn’t have the production volume to take advantage,” Parker said. “Profit margins were low.”
One factor in low supplies was a weather-related drop in Mexican strawberry production, which meant most of its sales stayed in the western U.S. and out of the prime eastern markets for Florida strawberries, he said. But Florida weather played a bigger role.
The 2015-16 Florida strawberry season started with a bang as warm fall weather meant early and good production, although wholesale prices remained at typical high levels.
But overproduction in that first crop of the season meant production fell for the second crop in January, Parker said.
January production fell to 25 percent of a typical season, Parker said.
Florida strawberry production came back with a vengeance last week. Growers picked 10 times the volume of berries Feb. 15 as they had on Feb. 12, Parker reported.
That produced a market glut, which was good for consumers but not for growers. By Feb. 18 wholesale prices in Orlando had dropped mostly to the range of $6.90 to $10.90 per flat because of heavy supply and light demand, the USDA reported.
The good news for both growers and consumers is that the market is expected to return to a more normal equilibrium as early as this week.
Also, Mexican production continues to remain low, eliminating that competitor. Strawberry production in California, the biggest strawberry state, with annual production about 10 times that of Florida, has suffered because of excess rain brought on by El Nino.
