Rain and cold weather slowed the start of the 2018 strawberry harvest in California’s Salinas/Watsonville district, but suppliers expect promotable strawberry volume expected for Mother’s Day.
The Watsonville-based California Strawberry Commission has kicked off a number of programs this season to encourage consumption of California strawberries.
With nearly twice as many avocados in the marketplace this year compared to 2017, the California Avocado Commission expects California fruit to be in the market longer with more customers in more areas.
Avocados are a hit at retail, ranking first among items shoppers said they bought in the past 12 months that they didn't buy previously, according to The Packer's 2018 Fresh Trends.
The largest wildfire in California’s history damaged a number of avocado groves and left some workers homeless before the five-week blaze was declared fully contained Jan. 11.
Organic strawberries account for 11.8% of the acreage in California, according to the California Strawberry Commission, and growers say volume has been holding steady or making small gains over the past few years.
California’s 2018 strawberry season got off to a rousing start, with volume as of March 3 more than double that of last year — 7.78 million trays compared to 3.7 million trays in 2017.
Organic produce is listed among the top 50 trends for 2018 by the National Restaurant Association, and “veggie-centric/vegetable-forward cuisine” is included in the association’s Top 10 Hot Trends for 2018.
