The supply of imported blueberries remains tight and looks to become even more so throughout the rest of the month. "My feeling was that Peru shipped earlier than usual with a lot of domestic product still around," says Ricky Armata of C&J Brothers, noting that the last domestic blueberry growing region, Oregon, finished up two weeks ago. "It was a very depressed market."
That means that Peruvian shippers, who would be used to starting the season with higher blueberry prices, actually saw lower ones. That forced them to price more in line with domestic product rather than the higher premium-berry pricing.
On top of this, it seemed like retailers and wholesalers all simultaneously switched to Peru for supply. "Then the whole supply chain gets backlogged, hence the higher FOB pricing," says Armata.
© C&J Brothers
Higher September markets
Indeed, now importers and growers are pushing up FOB pricing. "Even higher than it already has been. So there will definitely be a higher market going into the next few weeks," he adds.
Even so, the higher prices aren't deterring consumers given there's strong demand for blueberries right now. "Even though the pricing is very strong, the quality is outstanding. They are receiving hard, sweet, perfect blueberries and there's no waste–they're not going moldy in fridges after two days. So there's more value to it," he says. "It justifies the price a bit. I'm seeing a lot of repeat business too and a lot of activity because of the shortage and quality. The end consumer is eating the fruit, liking it and going back and buying more," says Armata.
Looking ahead, by the first or second week of October, there should be more of an influx of fruit from Peru. That's when the market is expected to ease off with a sharp decrease on the FOB because there will be more volume.
For more information:
Ricky Armata
C&J Brothers
Tel.: +1 (718) 991-5050
[email protected]
https://www.candjbrothers.com/