Agronometrics Blog

Overview of the raspberries and blackberries market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics.



Original published in ThePacker.com on June 20, 2020

Raspberries and blackberries were the fastest-growing fruit categories in the produce department during the period from 2006-08 to 2016-18, based on average annual per capita consumption, Roland Fumasi, vice president and senior analyst for RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness, Fresno, Calif., said in a presentation to the Pittsboro, N.C.-based North American Raspberry and Blackberry Association in March.

Demand for conventional raspberries rose from 216.5 million pounds in 2018 to 236.4 million pounds in 2019, he said, drawing from U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

Volumes (in LB) of raspberries in the US market


Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)
Blackberry movement was down slightly year over year from 174.4 million pounds in 2018 to 168.3 million pounds in 2019…

The U.S. avocado market has been a rollercoaster ride so far this year, but the last five weeks have offered a sense of stability that has been absent from 2020 thus far. That might come as a bit of a surprise considering Covid-19 and all the unrest that has been making headlines over the same time period.

Comparing the pricing to the historic data it looks like the market is lining up to where it was in 2018, making it a good basis for comparison in our analysis.

Hass Avocado Prices (Price Reported) | Non-Organic


Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)
The volumes, however, look quite a bit different then what we saw in 2018, dipping from week 20 to 24, whereas in 2018 we saw volumes spike.

Considering that avocados can be stored, a spike in volume never tells the whole story, but we can take an average over the last two months to make an rough estimation of how much fruit is actually moving into the market. By thi…

Overview of Michoacan avocados season, in conversations with Aaron Acosta from Villita Avocados, complemented by charts from Agronometrics.



Original published in FreshPlaza.com on June 30, 2020

The Michoacán season is wrapping up at the higher elevations and will officially start the 2020/2021 season on July 1st. “Michoacán produces avocados year-round. We start at the lower elevations and work our way up to the higher elevations throughout the season. Right now, we are wrapping up the season, which will end on June 30th. Then July 1st we will move back down to the lower elevations and officially start the next season,” Aaron Acosta of Villita Avocados explains.

Steady demand in the US market

While Mexico supplies the US with avocados throughout the year, during the summer months, Peru and California are also in season. Acosta explains: “Peru and California have a much shorter operating season than Mexico does, and so they will bring all their product to the market no matter what. I…

Overview of the organic blueberry season in conversations with Scott Mabs from Homegrown Organic Farms, complemented by charts from Agronometrics.



Original published in ThePacker.com on June 29, 2020

Homegrown Organic Farms is partnering with Valles del Sur, a Chilean grower, to import organic blueberries.

“Solidifying an import program has been part of our strategic plan for several years, and we are excited to partner with Valles del Sur for the 2020-21 blueberry import season,” Scott Mabs, chief executive officer, said in a news release.

Blueberries will be imported October through March, the off-season of California and Oregon, offering blueberries year-round.

Volume (KG) of organic blueberries in the U.S. market, by origin


Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)
“This new partnership is going to give us a single source program with unmatched consistency throughout the entire supply chain,” Stephen Paul, category…

Overview of the Pacific Northwest cherry season, complemented by charts from Agronometrics.



Original published in CapitalPress.com on June 23, 2020

WENATCHEE, Wash. — The Pacific Northwest cherry crop is smaller than anticipated, which is bringing strong prices after California’s crop finished light.

The average freight-on-board price on Northwest red cherries was around $52 per 20-pound box for the week of June 14-21, said Brian Focht, manager of the Northwest Cherry Marketing Association in Wenatchee. That’s $16 more per box than at the same time last year, he said.

It’s common for the season’s first cherries to garner $70 per box or more for the first week of exports to Asia, but prices can be around $20 by July as supply overtakes demand.

Increasing volume the week of June 21-28 will push prices down a little because demand will remain stronger than supply, Focht said.

“Cherries are good and big. Retail is scrambling to get product for the Fourth of July to fill shelves,” Foch…

Overview of the avocado supplies in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics.



Original published in Freshplaza.com on June 25, 2020

Supplies of avocados in North America are ample to say the least.

“We have supplies coming from three different countries of origin right now. This is a perfect scenario for retailers right now because they can choose from any country of origin,” says Keith Slattery of Stonehill Produce Inc. in Capistrano Beach, CA.

California: California has a significantly larger avocado crop in 2020 compared to 2019. “California has 369 million lbs. of avocados and we’ve harvested 205 million. So, we’re 55 percent through with 45 percent remaining as of the middle of June,” says Slattery. “We expect California to continue harvesting at approximately 15 Million lbs per week through July and gradually tapering off thereafter with supplies through September.”

Volumes (in LB) of avocados from California in the US market


Source: USDA Market News via Agrono…

Overview of the blueberry season by Ryan Lockman of North Bay Produce, complemented by charts from Agronometrics.



Original published in Freshplaza.com on June 23, 2020

It has been a challenging year for the domestic blueberry market. “The growing conditions in many of our regions were devastating,” says Ryan Lockman, VP of Sales and Procurement at North Bay Produce. “Early freezes, heavy rains, winds, hail, hurricanes, and viruses sum up the conditions in both Georgia and North Carolina. We are looking forward to a better situation in our Northern regions and summer crops.”

Volumes (in KG) of Blueberries from Georgia in the US market


Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

Volumes (in KG) of Blueberries from North Carolina in the US market


Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)
Although North Bay is headquartered in Michigan – the country’s third larges…

This week we're going to provide an update on berry pricing in the U.S. spot market, looking at the average values of blueberries, raspberries. strawberries and blackberries.

Blueberries

Kicking off with blueberries, we can see in the chart below that this category has seen fairly similar pricing to the previous year, with small fluctuations from one week to another.

In week 25, the average price was up 10% year-on-year at US$5.59. The supplying regions are California, Mexico, Georgia, New Jersey, and North Carolina.

Prices of non-organic blueberries (USD per kilo) in the U.S. market


Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)
Raspberries

In the case of raspberries, we can see that prices have been trending significantly downward in recent weeks, in contrast to previous years.

In week 25 the average price was US$4.70 per kilo, a while 42% lower year-on-year. The supplying regions are California and Mexico.

Prices o…