News and Stories

Markon First Crop Strawberries are available. Prices are inching up after being relatively flat for the past four weeks. Industry volume is down approximately 20% compared to this time last month due to a natural decrease in yields, however overall supplies remain ample. Markets are expected to continue rising through July and into August. Favorable weather patterns and cool night temperatures for the past several weeks have helped keep quality high.

• Many growers are facing some degree of labor shortages due to competition between other California commodities that are in season
• Growers run the risk of falling behind schedule if they do not have enough labor available to stay on top of lot rotations and cull fruit that doesn’t meet specifications
• Harvesting crews are culling berries with any signs of quality issues such as bruising, mildew, over-ripeness, and softness
• Favorable weather patterns and cool night temperatures for most of July have helped keep texture strong and overall quality good
• Size has decreased to mainly medium fruit; this is due to the plants natural bloom cycle and more stress compared to the beginning of the season
• A slight warming trend is forecast for this weekend; Markon inspectors do not predict any significant change in quality
• Expect markets to continue inching up through July and into August until new crop Santa Maria fruit is harvested in late August/early September

Please contact your Markon customer service representative for more information.

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