Crops are a couple weeks late this year in New Zealand and supplies are low. This is a big challenge considering Christmas just days away. Most of their supply has already been pre-sold at local supermarkets leading farmers to recommend consumers to reduce their fruit demands this week so that there will be enough to go around.
Berry fruit orchardist Steve McArthur, has blamed the weather for the late harvest this year. He said that a colder and windier spring and a lot more rain caused problems for farmers and led directly to the delay.
Some stores sold out of the berries in barely an hour. The berries are a popular addition to Christmas in New Zealand and the farmers have their hands full picking as many as they can to meet Christmas demands.
