Georgia blueberry volume slashed by freeze; blackberries OK
After a mild winter that brought on a slightly early bloom, several nights of freezing temperatures in mid-March severely hit the Georgia blueberry crop. Around the state, growers were telling the same story.
“Blueberries are basically gone for the year,” said Allen Miles, owner of Miles Berry Farms in Baxley, Ga.
“An unseasonably warm winter with a mid-March freeze took as much as 90% of rabbiteye blueberries.”
Miles said southern highbush blueberries are an earlier crop, and were better able to hold up against the freeze.
“They should help provide supply through most of summer,” he said.
Teddy Koukoulis, director of blueberry operations for Wish Farms in Plant City, Fla., said the freeze had cut blueberry volume estimates by half.
“It looked like we were going to have a good crop of blueberries. The weather was warmer — buds came on a little earlier than normal and that left the berries vulnerable to the freeze in mid-March,” he said.
Koukoulis said Wish Farms had anticipated about 2 million pounds of blueberries from their growers around the state.
“After the freeze, we estimate we’ll be under 1 million pounds.”
Salinas, Calif.-based Naturipe Farms’ Georgia growers still have a strong supply, even though the harvest is disappointing, vice president of product management Brian Bocock said.
“Blueberries will be limited compared to last couple of years,” he said.
Bocock estimates growers will have enough blueberries to continue shipping through June.
Georgia blueberry growers were reporting the peak of harvest in early May.
Bocock said pricing will be strong, “but not ridiculously high.”
On May 4, the USDA reported firm pricing and good demand for southern Georgia blueberries. F.o.b.s for flats of 12 6-ounce cups were $13-18, with flats of 12 1-pint cups shipping for $24-28.
Last year at the same time, flats of 6-ounce cups were $16-18, with the 1-pint cups at $24-28.50.
Organic blueberries from south Georgia were shipping for $25-34 for flats of 12 6-ounce cups.
Blackberries were a different story.
“We’re expecting a very good crop, with good to strong volumes,” Bocock said.
He said promotional opportunities should be available for Georgia blackberries through June.
