Agronometrics in Charts: Blackberry prices remain higher than the rest of the Berries
By
| 14 October 2022
In this installment of the ‘Agronometrics In Charts’ series, Valeria Concha studies the state of the US berries market. Each week the series looks at a different horticultural commodity, focusing on a specific origin or topic visualizing the market factors that are driving change.
When analyzing the principal berries prices (Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries) in the US Market, it is possible to see that on average, the prices for blackberries have been superior in the last 8 weeks. During week 40 the average pricing per Kg was at $7.79, while for Blueberries $5.77, Strawberries $5.19 and $5.05 for Raspberries. This week, compared to the same week of 2021, prices on average have been higher for Strawberries (+$2.4 per Kg) and Blackberries (+$2.62 per Kg), while lower for Raspberries (-$2.3 per Kg) and Blueberries (-$2 per Kg).
The Mexican blackberry season is starting, its higher availability is during April, May, June, November and December, and the California supply has been decreasing, generally available June through October. For its part, the trend for raspberries has been downward in recent weeks, Mexican volumes remain abundant and will only increase through the end of October/early November. Strawberries have presented positive adjustments in prices with supplies limited still, local production has been impacted negatively by the rain events. For Dan Crowley, vice president of sales and marketing Well-Pict, as the weather goes from warm to much cooler, it’s a great time for retailers to place strawberries in the front of their produce aisles. Likewise for blueberries, which have presented negative adjustments on prices in the last 2 weeks, remain promotable. Mexico’s blueberries production will be increasing and Peruvian volumes will continue to rise until they reach their peak, which in 2021 occurred between week 41 and 44.
Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)
Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)
According to the latest fresh produce report from Rabobank, going forward, Blueberry industry trends include: the probability of declining unit prices for Peruvian exports, stagnation in Chilean production, and an increase in substrate-grown berries in Mexico.
Chilean blueberry growers expect to be at the same level of production as last season, featuring a different variety mix and a lower volume of fresh exports, said Andres Armstrong, executive director of the Chilean Blueberry Committee. Also, the executive director signaled that members of the Chilean Blueberry Committee and fruit exporters are committed to quality and not focused on volume growth.”Our goal is to supply a renewed variety mix to our different markets”.
Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)
In our ‘In Charts’ series, we work to tell some of the stories that are moving the industry. Feel free to take a look at the other articles by clicking here.
All pricing for domestic US produce represents the spot market at Shipping Point (i.e. packing house/climate controlled warehouse, etc.). For imported fruit, the pricing data represents the spot market at Port of Entry.
You can keep track of the markets daily through Agronometrics, a data visualization tool built to help the industry make sense of the huge amounts of data that professionals need to access to make informed decisions.If you found the information and the charts from this article useful, feel free to visit us at www.agronometrics.com where you can easily access these same graphs, or explore the other 21 commodities we currently track.
Written by: Valeria Concha
