A look ahead: What to expect from California's strawberry season

Despite record rain and snowfall followed by flooding and a levee break, it appears that California still will manage to have a robust strawberry season.

“While the storms and levee break along the Pajaro River did cause significant damage to the affected farmers, the outlook for this year’s California strawberry crop is quite good,” said Jeff Cardinale, director of communications for the Watsonville-based California Strawberry Commission.

“About 95% of the strawberry crop was undamaged from the storm and should lead to an outstanding season for retailers and consumers,” he said.

The season got off to a slow start, however, with February and March production well below last year. The number of trays picked as of March 18 was about 5.6 million trays, down from 14 million at the same time in 2022.

But Cardinale was optimistic.

“As soon as the sunshine returns, we expect California strawberry farms to surge with hiring and harvesting and production ready to meet consumer demand,” he said.

California’s strawberry supplies were tight for the Easter holiday, but grower-shippers expected significant improvement for Mother’s Day, May 14.

“We’re looking for a prolific supply probably from mid-April through May,” said Jim Grabowski, director of marketing for Watsonville-based Well-Pict Inc. “For Mother’s Day, we should be in very good shape.”

Well-Pict experienced some minor flooding in the Salinas area as a result of the heavy rains, Grabowski said. “For the most part, we made it out OK.”

He did not anticipate any long-term shortages since additional acreage was planted in the state this year, which should make up for any lost ground.

“What’s going to be available will be comparable to last year, which was more than sufficient,” Grabowski said.

Berry size was “excellent” for Well-Pict in late March, Grabowski said, and it should remain that way at least until mid- to late April when volume begins to pick up.

“Even then, sizing should be really good,” he said.

Growers did not anticipate quality problems.

“Our plants in California look strong, and I don’t expect quality to be an issue,” said Brent Scattini, vice president of West Coast for Visalia, Calif.-based Seven Seas, part of St. Louis-based Tom Lange Co. Inc.

Picking was running behind, though.

“We should already be harvesting on the central coast,” Scattini said. “However, weekly rains and cooler temperatures keep pushing us back.”

Assuming favorable weather, “We should hit full stride by the third or fourth week in April,” he said.

Oxnard, Calif.-based Bobalu Berries grows strawberries in Oxnard and Santa Maria, said Cindy Jewell, who handles marketing for the company.

“Basically, we’re a month behind,” she said.

“We’re not even picking in Santa Maria yet,” she said March 31. “Typically, we start at the beginning of March.”

Picking for the season started on schedule in Oxnard, just after Christmas, she said, “But then it all came to a screeching halt.”

Oxnard-based Success Valley Produce LLC was running about two months behind, said Backus Nahas, director of marketing.

“There are going to be tighter supplies probably through Mother’s Day,” he said. “Hopefully, supply and demand will meet after that, depending on how much acreage Watsonville actually lost.”

Some Watsonville-area growers cold face a difficult summer, said Nahas, who added that he is familiar with what’s involved in cleaning up a flooded field.

“The process takes a lot of time and a lot of money,” he said.

Growers “have to do the right thing” and be careful about issues like hepatitis and E. coli.

“Sometimes, doing the right thing could mean abandoning a field,” he said.

As might be expected, strawberry fob prices have been strong.

“It’s not your normal pricing for this time of the year,” Grabowski said.

On March 31, fob prices for trays of eight 1-pound clamshells of large/extra-large strawberries were $18 to $20, according to USDA. A year ago, trays of medium/large strawberries cost $14 to $16.

“I think higher pricing will be prevalent for the start of the season,” Scattini said. “But once California is firing on all cylinders, pricing should normalize.”

He said he expected the market to remain tight until late April.

“As both Florida and central Mexican volumes wind down, a greater emphasis will have to shift to the West Coast,” Scattini said.

Although labor availability was not an issue in early April, there was some concern about later in the season.

“Traditionally, right now, we would be needing more people,” Nahas said.

That was not the case this year because of low production, but workers typically move out of the Oxnard region when production winds down in May.

“Will the labor stay in May and June when we need them in Oxnard?” Nahas wondered.