In this installment of the ‘Agronometrics In Charts’ series, Valeria Concha studies the state of the US blackberry market. Each week the series looks at a different horticultural commodity, focusing on a specific origin or topic visualizing the market factors that are driving change.

U.S. berry sellers are looking to Canada as severe drought continues to wreak havoc on crops in California, the largest agricultural state in the US. The  tests are being conducted in order to determine whether commercial production of blackberries and raspberries is viable in the province.

According to the Drought Monitor report, 43.2% of California is in extreme to exceptional (D4) drought. The trials are still in their early stages and hence it isn't clear whether Canada could become a significant player in the berry market in the coming years. In Canada, strawberry, raspberry and blackberry production isn't new, though the scale and growing season targeted by Driscoll’s and Naturipe are. 

Until week 38, the US market accumulated nearly 12,161 tons of blackberries from California Central, 8% lower than the same period of 2021.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics. (Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

Currently, the supply of Californian blackberries is past its peak and is decreasing. The recent rainfall has delayed harvests and has caused a downtrend, compared to 2021. At the same time, volumes from Mexico have slowly been increasing and light Blackberry volumes from Guatemala have been making their way into the US market. This week, the supply of blackberries in the US market reached roughly 893 tons, 31% lower than the previous week.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics. (Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

Although the average daily prices have registered weekly decreases, the lower supply in recent weeks has caused them to be higher than those registered in the previous season. In week 38, the price was, on average, $15.23 per package, 25.66% higher than that recorded in 2021. 

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics. (Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

In our ‘In Charts’ series, we work to tell some of the stories that are moving the industry. Feel free to take a look at the other articles by clicking here.

All pricing for domestic US produce represents the spot market at Shipping Point (i.e. packing house/climate controlled warehouse, etc.). For imported fruit, the pricing data represents the spot market at Port of Entry.

You can keep track of the markets daily through Agronometrics, a data visualization tool built to help the industry make sense of the huge amounts of data that professionals need to access to make informed decisions. If you found the information and the charts from this article useful, feel free to visit us at www.agronometrics.com where you can easily access these same graphs, or explore the other 21 commodities we currently track.