December 7, 2020

Strawberries

Oxnard: 

Harvest: Growers are anticipating a first walk through of the fields early next week.

Santa Maria:

Quality:  Good quality with nice color, shape and firmness. Only a small amount of pinpoint rot, but crews are working hard to keep packs clean.

Volume: Will continue through December as long as the rain holds off.

Pack Counts: Conventional: 22-24  / Organic: 20-22-24

Salinas:

Harvest: Growers are now officially finished for the 2020 season.

Mexico:

Quality:  Good quality with some green shoulders and overripe fruit here and there. Growers are working closely with their harvest crews to get clean packs.

Volume: Will be increasing over the next few weeks.

Pack Counts: Conventional: Range of counts from ranch to ranch 18-20 / 22-24

Florida:

Quality: Fantastic, premium grade fruit with berries on the smaller side. Flavor is really good.

Volume: Industry wide, total conventional volumes are lower than forecasted due to below average temperatures for this time of year. Organic harvest should begin by the end of the week.

Pack Count: Conventional: 28-34 to continue to shift towards the 20’s in the weeks to come.

Blueberries

Mexico

Quality: Good quality with good size between 14-18mm and good bloom.

Volume:  Trending upward. Organic volume will begin to increase significantly in late January.

South America:

Quality: Quality on recent container arrivals from Chile has been mostly good with good size, bloom and firm berries.

Volume: Growers in Argentina, Uruguay and Peru are finished for the season. We are expecting to receive their final containers into the U.S. within the next few weeks.

Production in Chile is ramping up. Large, promotable volumes will be received from late December through early March.

Oxnard

Harvest: Steady harvesting of organic blueberries in Oxnard will start in early January and will continue until early June. Growers anticipate March and April as the peak harvest window.

Raspberries

Mexico:

Quality: Good quality with good size. Some broken and uneven ripening throughout, but is being discarded to keep packs clean.

Volume: Steady volume over the next month, pending any weather events.

Blackberries 

Mexico:

Quality: Good quality with some wind damage, red cell and leaky berries that crews are keeping out of the packs.

Volume: Steady