January 29, 2021

Strawberries

Oxnard: 

Weather: The cool weather and rain last week impacted the ripening of the strawberries, but damage was minimal since crews have worked hard to pick ahead of the weather and there is not much red fruit in the field currently. Crews are working slow with furrows that have standing water and doing the best job possible to keep boxes dry, picking into plastic boxes and transferring to regular boxes.

Quality: Shape, sheen and taste are good with coloring around 90-100 percent. Fruit seems to be solid after rain event, no signs of water damage at this time.

Pack Counts: Conventional: 14-18 ct.

Santa Maria:

Quality: Some ranches were slightly affected by a recent frost more than others. Then rain towards the end of the week accumulated 3.50-4.25" around the valley. Almost all fruit with color was damaged by the rain and ranches working to clean up over the weekend. Growers will have to assess long term damage in the coming weeks. 

Pack Counts: Conventional: 14-16-18 ct. / Organic: 18-20 ct. depending on variety.

Mexico:

Quality: Good quality with some bruised fruit and minor green shoulders.

Volume: It's expected to be steady for the next few weeks.

Pack Counts: Conventional: 18-25 ct / Organic: 18-28 ct.

Florida:

Quality: Of the small amount being harvested, the fruit is of high quality with great flavor and size.

Volume: Temperatures continue to be below average and have prevented the plants to mature and the fruit to ripen as anticipated. There are lots of flowers and green fruits in the field, all ready and waiting for the weather to warm up.

Pack Count: Conventional: 15-17 ct.

Blueberries

Mexico

Quality: Quality is very good with good size, bloom, flavor, and firmness on both organic and conventional product. Berries are measuring about 14-20 mm.

Volume: Volume will begin ramping up significantly in mid-February.

South America:

Quality: Mostly good quality with the occasional fair quality due to delays with vessels, ports and customs procedures.

Volume: Chilean growers in the south-central and southern regions of the country are harvesting large volumes now. 

Oxnard

Quality: Good quality with firm berries and good bloom. There are small amounts of redback seen throughout the packs.

Volume: High winds and a freeze event last week have slowed harvest for a few days. Growers report that we will see lower volumes until the second week of March due to these weather events. 

Raspberries

Mexico:

Quality: Good quality with minor broken fruit and uneven ripening. Crews are working hard to keep less ideal fruit out of the clamshells.

Volume: There will be steady volume over the next 4 weeks.

Blackberries 

Mexico:

Quality: Good quality, size and flavor.

Volume: Steady