In this installment of the ‘Agronometrics In Charts’ series, Sarah Ilyas studies strawberry prices this season. 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.

The average daily strawberry prices in the US have risen by 37.14% marking a $3.25 increase on the prices recorded on July 14, from $8.75 to $12.00. Due to a series of atmospheric rivers in California during the winter and spring seasons, a torrential downpour inundated the strawberry fields in Watsonville and Salinas, resulting in the loss of two to three months' worth of the growing season. Earlier assessments this year had approximated damages totaling $200 million to crops, property, and equipment.

While volumes did pick up momentum despite a delayed start to the season, the California Strawberry Commission officially verified a minimum of $100 million in crop losses. Spring crops in Santa Maria are currently winding down; the fall crop is expected to begin in late July to early August while strawberries from the Salinas and Watsonville areas are experiencing a gradual reduction in fruit size.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.

(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.

(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

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.