A historically long red bell pepper market just wrapped up in Coachella, California, at the beginning of March. "Generally, we run from the end of November to maybe February 1 if we're lucky, but this season, we made it all the way to March 6 with red bell peppers. So that was exciting for us," says Garret Powell of Peter Rabbit Farms in Coachella.
What was behind that long season? No freezing weather, for starters. "The bell pepper market also stayed high enough where you could still harvest--the harvest costs were also historically high," he says, adding that the supply issues out of Mexico (following storms that affected the season's planting) meant that the market stayed strong enough for this California region to continue packing.
With that season finished up now, there is a small supply gap, though planting for spring has already finished. Production in Coachella will begin on April 15 on green bell peppers and May 7 on red bell peppers. For Peter Rabbit Farms, acreage on both red and green bell peppers will be very similar, though overall acreage in the Coachella Valley could be slightly less than the five-year average. The planting for the spring crop is right on schedule, though. "So far, I'm expecting it to be a good season with ideal weather conditions--maybe there's a bit more wind than we'd prefer, though," he says.
Bell pepper supply and demand
As for demand, it was good all the way through the beginning of 2024. "Had we had the peppers, we would have kept going. I think that demand for all peppers has since stayed strong. It doesn't sound like the volume got high enough to impact demand," says Powell. Normally, with regular levels of supply out of Mexico at this time, supply tends to exceed demand, and prices are softer. However, this year, it's been the opposite of that.
Looking ahead, Powell anticipates demand to pick up with the spring weather warming the country back up. "It's a spring-summertime commodity, and we expect to have strong demand and good production coming from Coachella during the spring and Bakersfield during the summer," he says.
Along with peppers, Peter Rabbit Farms will also be starting its Coachella eggplant season.
For more information:
Garret Powell
Peter Rabbit Farms
Tel.: +1 (760) 398-0136
garretp@peterrabbitfarms.com
https://www.peterrabbitfarms.com/