News and Stories

Markon First Crop Strawberries are not available; Markon Best Available Strawberries in one-pound clamshells and packer label supplies are being substituted due to quality. Harvest crews spent this week stripping the plants of water-damaged berries caused by rain earlier in the week. More rain is expected on Sunday night, November 8, and Monday morning, November 9, which will further impact quality and available supplies.

• Demand far exceeds supplies; prices continue to rise
• Rainfall of up to 0.50” is expected on Monday, November 9
• Growers will ship only one-pound clamshells next week to minimize the following arrival issues
• Bleeding
• Bruising
• Light decay
• Shortened shelf-life
• Soft texture
• California strawberry volume is predicted to remain low through mid-December
• Cooler temperatures are slowing the ripening process
• New crop winter berry harvest will start in December
• Mexican grown strawberries are available for loading in South Texas; limited supplies are crossing into California
• Sizing is small
• Supplies are tight
• Quality is fair
• Stocks are not expected to increase until the week of November 16
• Florida strawberry harvest will start in two weeks
• Early season supplies will be very tight
• Initial orders must be pallet quantities
• Only one-pound clamshells will be available during the early season

The attached update shows rainfall amounts from earlier in the week and quality concerns. We will continue to update members as more information becomes available.

Please contact your Markon customer service representative for more information.

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