The demand pull from the upcoming St. Patrick's Day is contributing to rising cabbage prices in the United States. With supermarkets locking down supplies, the product that's left on the open market is commanding higher prices.
“The price for a carton of green cabbage jumped above $12.00 this week,” said Chris Amaral of Amaral Ranches. “The market was pretty steady at around $8.00 to $10.00 per carton, but, now that ads have started to break, I think prices will get up in the higher teens.” Retailers are getting into supplies that were prebooked for March, and that's leaving less product on the open market. On February 29, prices for a carton of green cabbage from Mexico were between $10.00 and $13.00 at crossings through California and Arizona, and prices for a carton of red cabbage were between $11.45 and $18.45.
In addition to an increase in seasonal demand due to Saint Patrick's Day, the past couple of seasons have seen cabbage prices that belie the product's historically staid performance in the market.
“Cabbage is one of those items that's a spotty deal, and it's usually a cheaper market item,” said Amaral. “But there aren't that many people doing it anymore, so there's less supply, and the market goes up when demand picks up.”
