Blueberry supplies out of Mexico are very tight currently. “In December and January, the market was really low so a lot of the people who grow them got discouraged and didn’t want to invest the money in their crop and they pruned their fields,” says Fernando M Garcia of Berry Sunny International, LLC, noting that blackberry supplies are tight as well. “They also had issues with frost, especially in Michoacán and this has all lowered the overall volume of the crop.”
He believes that those supplies of blueberries will remain on the tighter side until U.S. growers start their season. “Florida started last week and we’re seeing volumes increase a little bit more,” Garcia says.
Second growing region
He also adds that another region will get underway with production in April. “Growers in Jalisco, Mexico will probably pick blueberries next month but it’s only a limited number of growers,” Garcia says. “Last year the market was really good in April so a lot of people target that window to sell blueberries, especially in Jalisco. The growers in Michoacán usually start earlier.”
Not surprisingly, demand is in turn strong for blueberries and Garcia notes recently he saw pricing hit the $42-$44 market. “For Mexican blueberries, that’s very expensive. Even people I don’t sell to are calling and asking for blueberries,” he says.
