US stores dealing with strawberry shortage
Bad weather in Florida and California is to blame for the strawberry shortage that started in October, and then got really bad in November and early December, local produce managers say.
It happened during a transition time, when most local grocery stores switch from buying California strawberries to Florida and Mexican strawberries. Cold, wet weather hit as California's season was winding down, and then an unusually cold November got Florida off to a slow start, store owners said.
Adi Mor, CEO and produce buyer at Mundelein-based Garden Fresh Market, normally orders 50-100 cases of strawberries for each of his five suburban grocery stores. This week, he'll get 30 cases if he's lucky, he said. At one point, he was only able to buy four cases.
Contrary to what suburban produce buyers say, strawberry grower associations in California and Florida describe the year as "normal" and weren't aware of any strawberry shortages.
Chris Christian, senior vice president of the California Strawberry Commission, said they've had no major weather problems and strawberry growers are having "a normal November and December." The peak months for strawberries are June, July and August.
The USDA numbers show that shipment numbers were lower than last year at this time for all domestic and imported strawberries.
Source: dailyherald.com