Drier weather has California strawberries rebounding

Warmer, drier weather is helping California strawberries rebound in time for Valentine’s Day promotions following heavy rains in January.

California strawberry supplies rebounding but light

Supplies are still expected to be tight and quality good for the holiday promotion after six inches of rain caused widespread damage to ripened strawberries in the state’s major winter growing districts of Santa Maria, Orange County and Oxnard, in January, delaying harvests late into the month.

But grower-shippers said improved weather is helping the fruit recover quickly but a lingering chance of rain the week of Feb. 8 may still affect supplies leading up to Valentine’s Day.

Craig Moriyama, strawberry product manager for Naturipe Farms LLC, Naples, Fla., which lost the majority of its ripe strawberry production in January, said new strawberries are filling in quickly after the fields were cleaned the last week of January. But supplies are looking lighter than usual, Moriyama said, and it doesn’t help that wet weather has reduced supplies from Mexico and Florida strawberries are still limited after freezing temperatures in January.

“For our customers it looks like we’ll be OK right now,” Moriyama said. Shipments for Valentine’s Day will start the week of Feb. 8, he said.

Prices for strawberries from San Diego and Orange counties ranged from $18 and $20 Feb. 3, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA reported prices of up to $20 on Feb. 3 for flats of 8 1-pound and flats of 4 2-pound containers of medium-large berries from Oxnard, with supplies steady from California.

Dan Crowley, sales manager for Watsonville, Calif.-based Well-Pict Inc., said reports of damage and reduced strawberry supplies have been exaggerated. Well-Pict is shipping strawberries from Florida, California, and Mexico, he said. Though there was crop damage, Crowley said he expects no supply issues for Valentine’s Day promotions because of improved weather conditions.

“There are adequate crops for Valentine’s Day,” Crowley said.

Growers shipped 214,700 trays of strawberries during the week of Jan. 30, down from 376,900 trays the previous week, according to the Watsonville-based California Strawberry Commission.

Due to short supplies and high prices retailers haven’t planned aggressive strawberry promotions for the holiday, said Russ Widerburg, sales manager for Boskovich Farms, Oxnard. Widerburg said supplies for the company will still be limited out of Oxnard before Valentine’s Day and demand for strawberries with long stems is outpacing what the company can ship.

“There is not a whole lot of optimism out there for supplies,” Widerburg said.

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