News and Stories

Markon First Crop Strawberries are not available; Markon Best Available is being substituted. Prices are quickly rising due to tight supplies of high-quality fruit. Warm temperatures and higher-than-normal humidity persist this week along California’s Central Coast. Many growers are culling fields and diverting fruit to freezers and processors due to poor quality. Attached are pictures of fresh packed strawberries versus those harvested two days earlier, to illustrate how quickly shelf-life is diminishing.

Salinas/Watsonville

• Prices are climbing rapidly; demand exceeds supply
• Harvesting crews are heavily culling fields due to poor quality
• Bruising, light decay, mildew, overripeness, and soft texture are issues
• Overall berry size is small to medium (22-26 berries per 1-pound clamshell)
• Stemmed strawberries are extremely limited
• Color is red to dark red
• Prices are $3.00-$4.00 higher than last week
• Expect prices to remain elevated through the end of the Salinas/Watsonville season

Santa Maria

• Fresh Santa Maria strawberries are very limited; most growers are keeping fruit local or sending it to freezers and processors
• Harvesting crews continue to heavily cull fields due to poor quality
• Decay, heavy bruising, bleeding, mildew, overripeness, and soft/fragile texture are problems
• Expect high-quality supplies to resume in late August/early September when new crop fall berries are harvested

As always, maintaining the cold chain will be critical for maximizing shelf-life. Markon recommends ordering for quick turns.

Please contact your Markon customer service representative for more information.

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