July 2, 2020

Regarding COVID-19: California Giant is working hard to make every effort to ensure the health and safety of our colleagues and coworkers, while maintaining SAFE business and supply continuity of fresh berries to our customers. All areas of our supply chain continues to emphasize thorough sanitation practices and social distancing protocols. Thank you for being a valued customer of California Giant - We are all in this together!

British Columbia
Our British Columbia blueberry growers will begin harvesting light volume next week and expect to see the majority of harvested volumes peak week 29 through week 37. The overall crop out of BC is reported to be light this year due to inconsistent and unfavorable weather during their spring pollination window.

Strawberries
Watsonville- Salinas:
Weather has continued to remain consistent this last week and is forecasted for the same overcast mornings followed by afternoon sun. Temperatures will be in the low to mid 70s with overnight fog into next week. The cooler weather has allowed production to get caught up in the field; however, labor continues to be an issue across the entire industry. Volumes have decreased now that we’ve come off peak production, and the plants are starting to struggle as a result of the extreme weather patterns we saw this spring. The strawberry industry as a whole is reporting reduced volume for the month of July. Quality is fair to good; crews are doing a good job of controlling the packs. Some dark fruit here and there, but it is firm thanks to the weather. Conventional Counts: 20-24; Organic Counts: 26-30.

Santa Maria
Weather has been consistent with all California growing regions. Santa Maria should expect a slight warm up into the low-80’s next week. In general, overall quality is improving, with some signs of bruising. We’re seeing good flower sets and the start of green fruit in the fields, as we look ahead to the Fall crop which is expected to start early August. Conventional Counts: 18-24; Organic Counts: 28-30. As with the Central Coast, the primary struggle for growers is with tight labor and a decrease in volume due to quality not being up to spec.

Raspberries
Watsonville-Salinas
Raspberry volume out of Watsonville is steady and will remain so for the next several weeks. Quality is good; some darker fruit, which is consistent with variety characteristics.

Blackberries 
Watsonville-Salinas:
Quality looks very good. Growers are in the midst of harvesting the Ouachita variety, which will wind down in a few weeks. The Prime Ark harvest has just started in very light batches. Volume will continue to increase in the next few weeks and remain strong throughout the summer.

Santa Maria:
We are seeing very strong quality blackberries out of Santa Maria, and forecast a consistent supply through the summer from this region.

Georgia:
The weather forecast is calling for thunderstorms for the next ten days. Growers have done their best to extend the harvest to its fullest; however, the wet weather will hinder labor and affect quality. Therefore, Georgia will be done for the season as of this week.