Strawberry Markets Stay Sweet all Summer Long
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
Through this unprecedented summer, one of the things that has remained constant is the strong demand for strawberries. Cindy Jewell is the President of Jewell Marketing and represents Bobalu Berry Farms based in Oxnard.
Jewell… “It's been a steady demand. I mean, typically what happens, you know, like towards the end of July, early August, we always have those dog days of summer where people are on vacation and they're not buying fresh produce and not buying groceries. That didn't happen this year. I mean, the demand has been great. You know, the market's been really steady fruits moving through the system and people are still buying.”
Jewell says this steady demand is good news for this summer strawberry season, and hopes prices remain strong for the upcoming fall season as well.
Jewell… “Typically at this time of the year, what's happening is the spring crop that was planted last November - that's been harvested in the Watsonville Salinas and Santa Maria areas - is slowly starting to wind down. But the fall crop is coming into play. So a lot of grower shippers plant in Oxnard and in Santa Maria in the summertime to get that second crop, to take them into the winter, to kind of bridge the gap between the season and next season. And that fall crop is just now starting in both Santa Maria and it'll start in Oxnard right after.”
With having multiple seasons, we should be able to enjoy fresh California strawberries through the end of the calendar year.